Passengers: The Novel
by USANAguy
Summary: A Novelized version of the movie 'Passengers. (Contains spoilers! Read at discretion!)
1. Chapter 1

Passengers: The Novel

 **Author's note: Love the movie 'Passengers'. In fact I went and saw it six times. Call me pathetic. But I so thought that there should have been a novelized version. So I'm writing it myself. Like all fan fiction there are a great deal of exaggeration and embellishment. Enjoy!**

Prologue

Date - March 15, 2916

The planet, Earth. The cradle of civilization. In the 800 years since the 21'st century, there had been no 'Third World War'. For 800 years life on Earth had continued on with little incident. Just a few corrupted governments with greedy politicians, and a few military conflicts between a few countries here and there, but civilization still carried on as normal for 800 years without the human race ever destroying itself.

But what was once a population of 7 billion in the 21'st century soon became 13 billion.

There then became strict population control. In places that used to be remote and secluded Quickly became explored and then small towns were built. Those small towns became Bigger towns. Eventually those bigger towns became major cities.

But the planet became overcrowded. Older small towns that used to be havens for people who didn't like the big city soon became uncomfortably claustrophobic.

No one was homeless anymore. Everyone was given either a small house or apartment.

No one went hungry. Though initially much farmland had been and then built on, food was no longer problem worldwide, for they had discovered a way to artificially synthesized biological nutritional protein, which was able to be made to look like any food and taste exactly like the real thing. 99 out of 100 people couldn't tell the difference. Though there were still some fanatics that claimed that such food was unnatural and therefore should not be eaten, and therefore only preferred the real thing. Much like how during the 21st century some people would not eat genetically altered food.

Then came, The 'Homestead Company'.

The Homestead Company initially was a small branch of NASA that's was attempting to explore beyond the solar system. It took hundreds of years. But by the late 23rd century they had successfully had a probe reach a neighboring solar system, 'Alpha Centauri'. And there the probe sent back data saying that it had found a planet that was, not 100% identical to Earth, no, but was superficially similar.

The planet in question had no life. But it was nearly identical in size and shape to Earth, had a few salt water oceans, and the most important part, a molten core and with that a geo-magnetic field.

Experimental terraforming technology had been used on Mars for decades. They had managed to create within Mars a breathable atmosphere, but because Mars had no molten core, it had no magnetic field. It was still uninhabitable except when the people stayed inside the radiation proof structures.

On Earth, with the terraforming technology eventually being mastered, they had cured the environment. Filtering out all of the pollution in Earth's atmosphere and they even stopped global warming as well as restore the Arctic Ice on the poles. They simply converted seawater into freshwater and then dispensed it in the Arctic temperatures on the poles where it froze, and overtime the oceans got a little shallower while fresh water ice continued to build up on the poles.

They had long since mastered the construction of large one-million ton interstellar Starships. The Starship's Center module would remain stationary, while the outer modules would rotate to create 'centripetal force' as a form of gravity, while contrary to science fiction, science had never discovered 'artificial gravity'.

Contrary to science fiction, science never managed to discover 'Warp Drive', or 'Hyperdrive', so they were confined to use a fusion powered, 'slower-than-light' 'Ion-Drive' in order to make a ship reach incredible velocity within a long period of time. A one way trip from Earth to Alpha Centauri took 19 years.

The ship contained a scientific crew along with terraforming technology. And within a few decades they had successfully turned the suitable planet in the Alpha Centauri star system into a carbon copy of Earth. They planted seeds and trees, bacteria for making soil fertile, and they built advanced living structures.

And the Homestead Company named this planet after themselves, and called the planet, Homestead I.

The Homestead Company then became the most popular Interstellar Cruise Line. There were others where people would take cruises on large Starships for luxury and fun. But usually they were just short trips around the solar system.

They had discovered how to place a human into hibernation. Complete and total suspended animation. As long as the person remained in suspended animation they would not age.

The hibernation technology allowed them to keep a person completely healthy forever as long as they were in suspended animation. Though putting them into hibernation could only be done under medical supervision. There was no way to do it without a team of doctors.

None the less, people didn't worry about that. Thousand upon thousands of people spent all of their money to get a spot on one of the Homestead Company's Interstellar Starships to begin immediate colonization of, Homestead I.

Of course, Homestead I, was only the first of many newly colonized planets. Several of Jupiter's moons had been colonized like Mars. As well as the moons of a few other planets in the solar system.

Venus and Mercury were unfit for any kind of terraforming or colonization.

But there were several other planets. Hundreds of nearby solar systems had been explored by thousands of long-range probes that had traveled for centuries.

There was a solar system about 60 light-years from Earth called the Bakty System, where they found another suitable planet. And they called it Homestead II.

And in countless other solar systems they discovered other planets that were eventually terraformed and colonization of those worlds began.

Earth would always remain the cradle of civilization, but there were thousands of people on Earth that wanted space and room to grow. And that was the slogan that the Homestead Company always used. The Homestead Company made trillions of dollars off of the colony planets because people literally paid everything they have. And the Homestead Company spared no expense on their Starships. The starships were supposed to be 100% safe.

The starship's primary systems were designed by the experts and then tested a thousand times over to be Fail-Safe. But even if the primary system somehow failed the ships were supposed to have countless redundant systems.

And since the people were putting their faith in the hibernation pods, the hibernation pods were also designed to be Fail-Safe. With built-in redundancies.

The hibernation pods for supposed to maintain the occupant's life while ensuring that they were healthy, and that was where all the redundancies were. If something went wrong with the life support system of a hibernation pod the hibernation pods were still supposed to continue to operate and maintain the life of the occupant.

* * *

In a Tech Factory in the city of Atlanta, an assembly line with fast-moving robotic arms were forging out of raw materials the components for making Electronic components for advanced Machinery. One such component was the internal metal-like Polymer Wire circuits for the 'Clock chips' that would be used to be installed into hibernation pods for suspended animation.

Millions of such Clock Chips had been manufactured on countless assembly lines in countless factories around the world. They all used a standard manufacturing method from their design that had been perfected and re-perfected over and over again. One such Clock Chip, with its individual serial number 'V27G4X91-X439' was inserted with a newly forged Synthetic metal-like polymer wire for one of its circuits. But within it contained a one in a hundred-billion random chance minute flaw. When Clock-Chip V27G4X91-X439, passed through a laser scanner for an inspection. The laser scanner was both designed and supposed to be able to detect 'imperfections' in the minute components of the bigger components. Had V27G4X91-X439, failed the inspection it would have been discarded and then it's raw materials recycled, but the minute flaw within that single wire was apparently so small that the inspection laser scanner could not detect it, and V27G4X91-X439 passed inspection and a few hours later, going down the assembly line, a robotic arm took V27G4X91-X439 and installed it into the 'date and time' Computer core of one out of thousands of freshly manufactured Hibernation Pods that were being inspected for use on Interstellar Starships.

* * *

Chapter 1

July 2, 2949

The Starship Avalon was flying at 0.48 the speed of light.

It was a 1.4 million ton Interstellar luxury liner. The Homestead Company's Premier Starship. Commission date - January 27, 2418.

It was currently on route from Earth to The Colony world of Homestead II. For over 500 years it had received overhauls and upgrades from 'Space-Dock', in orbit of several different worlds. Many other Starships had made this trip on this course.

The entire ship was currently on low power mode, except for a few of the primary systems.

There were five thousand passengers in suspended animation. There was a crew of 258 who were also in suspended animation. The ship was currently being flown on autopilot. The ship's computer was equipped with an artificial intelligence that was capable of carrying out all the ship's functions without crew. Though of course when the passengers are awake they prefer to have humans looking after them as opposed to just a mindless machine.

The crew was supposed to wake up five months before they arrive at Homestead II. Where then the passengers would then wake up Four months before they arrived at Homestead II, where the passengers would enjoy The Starship Avalon's many luxury amenities, compliments of the Homestead Company.

The hibernation pods were following their own time and date programmed into their own computer cores, as well as following the time and date of The ship's primary computer core. Everything is maintained perfectly. There was one small malfunction with a single insignificant system maybe once a year where the redundant systems would take over and cover for it almost instantly. The entire ship was supposed to be Fail-Safe all the time with no problems. For it was necessary to take such safety measures, because the journey from Earth to Homestead II was 120 years, one way.

The ship's Ion Drive was continually accelerating them. The acceleration was hardly anything but they gained considerable velocity after many many years of traveling like they still had a long way to go.

The ship was protected by a powerful energy Shield which was supposed to heat any inanimate object in outer space that comes in contact with it to disintegration point before it can penetrate The Shield.

It was around this time that while the ship was flying on its programed course, that it passed through a random meteor shower in deep space. Something that happens every now and then with other Starships. The first few small meteorites impacted the forward Shield and The Shield protected the ship flawlessly, however the computers artificial intelligence immediately realized this and decided to take a few unnecessary over-precautious precautions by diverting power from the living and luxury modules to reinforce the forward Shield. But one of the meteorites that they were heading for them was half the size of the ship. The ship did not have ultra evasive maneuvering capability, it could only fly on its predicted course. Had it detected the large meteorite significantly sooner it would have made a mild coarse adjustment to fly around it but now it didn't have time. The giant meteorite half the size of the ship impacted the forward Shield. The Shield did its job. The giant meteorite was completely disintegrated upon impact. However by lack of imagination by the scientists and engineers who designed the shield technology, the impact of the giant meteorite cause a tiny hole in the ship's Shield that was fixed by the ship's redundant systems within a fraction of a second. But within that fraction of a second a single basketball size meteorite that was right behind the giant meteorite got through the hole and at incredible velocity it penetrated the ship's hull within the engineering section and punched right through the wall of the primary reactor room, where it then hit the reactor's primary computer core. The entire Computer was not shut down, no, but just one of its modules. The rest of the computer took over, and the excessive Redundant systems attempted to correct the problem. But this kind of damage was never expected by the scientists and Engineers that designed the ship. It cause power fluctuations throughout the ship and a whopping 17 simultaneous malfunctions happened all at once. Nothing major. The malfunctions appeared on the primary hologram console on the bridge in the form of 'Red'-diagnostic scans. Red, indicating that something was wrong. On the red diagnostic scans the most functions registered a word that flashed, 'REPAIRING', and the word 'repairing', flashed for only a few seconds until the malfunction turned 'green' where the green indicated that all was well, and the malfunctions disappeared, one at a time 16 out of the 17 in quick succession. But the word 'repairing' kept flashing on one that stayed red. The malfunction was titled 'Hibernation Pod 1498'.

Within the large hibernation chamber within the Living Module, The hibernation pod would have being corrected by the ship's redundant systems, except for one thing, there was a power surge that went through the circuit board. This was something that happened within every hibernation pod on the ship, however the hibernation pods were designed to be able to withstand this sort of thing. All except for one single component in hibernation pod 1498. The minute Imperfection within V27G4X91-X439, that the Inspection Scanner at the factory was not able to detect had to take the full brunt of the energy surge from the ship's malfunction and meteorite impact in the reactor room, and while it was initially supposed to be able to withstand it, the minute flaw within V27G4X91-X439 caused the whole chip to burn out. What this then did was it made the computer core within the hibernation pod think that the ship's Journey had come to an end, and that it was time to wake up The Passengers on the ship, however this was independent to each hibernation pod individually.

It was in that moment with all of those circumstances that because of the burning out of Clock-Chip V27G4X91-X439...the occupant of hibernation pod 1498...was prematurely awakened.

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	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Hibernation pod 1498 injected James Preston with several different shots of different kinds of stimulants, as part of the reanimation process. A defibrillator then shocked his heart causing him to start breathing again after the stasis pod had oxygenated his brain. The hatch of his pod then opened up like an eggshell and then an interactive holographic artificial intelligence begin to speak to him in a calm friendly feminine voice.

"Good morning James." said the hologram of the woman. "How are you feeling?"

James Preston then opened his eyes and fumbled around with his hands in confusion, not entirely sure where he was or what he was doing.

"What? What's going on." James said in a panic.

"It is perfectly normal to feel confused." said the hologram in reaction to his actions. "You just spent 120 years in suspended animation."

"What?" said James Preston again still confused.

"It is okay James." said the holographic artificial intelligence reassuringly.

"It's Jim." James corrected the Hologram, telling it the variation of his name that he preferred to go by.

"Jim." complied the hologram with a smile, acknowledging his preference.

The last thing that Jim Preston remembered was being put into a dreamless coma by medical staff. The Homestead Company had discounted his ticket because of his Degree in Mechanical Engineering, a needed, profitable trait on the colony planets. He knew that he was going to Homestead II, and that he would be on the starship Avalon, but while his nervous system was rebooting with his brain waking up he had no memory of anything for the next few minutes.

"Where am I?" asked James.

"You are a passenger on the Starship Avalon." answered the hologram. "The ship is on it's final approach to the colony world of Homestead II; your new home. A new life, a fresh start, room to grow."

"Room to grow." said Jim with a smile as it all was starting to come back to him. The idea of a new home where he wouldn't be so claustrophobic like the overcrowded world of Earth was always his primary motivation for taking the trip. He also liked to feel useful with his engineering skills.

"For the next four months you will enjoy space travel at it it's most luxurious. Food, fun, friends."

"Fun and friends." said Jim in a daze with a smile.

"That's right Jim."

A holographic screen appeared off to the side. It showed his heart rate, his body temperature, and a few other colored meters that fluctuated. And a word saying, 'Scanning'.

"The ID bracelet on your right wrist is your key to the wonders of the Avalon." the hologram continued.

There was then a chime of approval from the screen that was off to the side.

"You are in perfect health Jim." Set the hologram. "Let's get you to your cabin so that you can get some rest. Please go down the aisle until you find door number 473."

He now had the strength to walk. He climbed out of his hibernation pod and started to walk down the aisle until he got to the door that was marked clearly with the numbers 473.

When he went through the door he saw a hallway with a long set of what appeared to be grey pajamas and bathrobes.

"If you are inclined, please change into the grey pajamas and bathrobes." said the voice of the female hologram from his hibernation pod.

While the rest of the ship was still on low-power mode, more or less, and all of the other Passengers on the ship were still asleep, Jim's Hibernation Pod's artificial intelligence was tapping into the ship's audio system to guide him every step of the way, independent from the ship's autopilot that said the journey was not over yet.

The ship also detected his presence and it was programmed to serve all the passengers regardless of what point in the journey they are detected in the hallways, compliments of the Homestead Company, the lights and ship's systems came on around him as he walked.

He went into a small cubicle and and changed into the grey pajamas.

"Please go down to the end of the hall." said the female voice.

He followed the directions of the female voice.

Though he had some of his mind cleared by now he was still in a half drunken state where he took no notice of the fact that he was the only person there.

"Please take a left." said The Voice. "The door to your cabin will illuminate."

He walked down the hall and he found the door that was illuminated.

"Please scan your ID band to enter the room." said the voice.

"Welcome to your cabin." said the voice after he had entered the room, and the holographic woman was waiting for him inside.

The cabin wasn't very big, but big enough. He was only a low class passenger. There was a bed, a closet, and a door that led to a bathroom with a toilet, sink, and a shower.

"This room will be your home until we reach landfall." said the holographic woman. "You have been assigned to learning group 38, for people with engineering and Technical trade skills. For the next four months you will take skill building classes, meet your fellow passengers, learn about colonial living, and enjoy the Homestead Company's luxury amenities. Please scan your ID to confirm luggage delivery."

He paused and looked around still in a partially confused state.

"Jim." the Hologram prompted. "Please scan your ID to confirm luggage delivery." she said again.

He waived his right wrist over the Hologram and there was a beeping sound and it was confirmed.

A hole in the wall produce a tall plastic glass and then started to dispense what appeared to be some pink water into it. Jim guessed that it was some kind of Electrolyte solution.

"As part of your recovery from hibernation sickness please drink plenty of fluids." said the holographic woman. "Also to recover from hibernation sickness it is highly encouraged that you take a nap for the rest of the day."

'Ironic,' thought Jim, 'that after you get out of suspended animation you need to sleep.'

He took the glass of pink water and began gulping it down and he then realized just how thirsty he was and how dry his mouth was.

"We hope you will enjoy the rest of your stay aboard the Avalon, a Homestead Company Starship." said the Hologram that then disappeared and did not reappear.

He then searched through his luggage and found a t-shirt and boxers. He changed into them and then decided To crawl under the covers on the bed. He dimmed the lights and quickly fell asleep.

Jim was in a deep sleep until he woke up because his lights spontaneously came on and the ship began talking to him from the audio system. It seems like a man's voice who was giving a shipwide broadcast on the morning radio.

"Good morning passengers. It is a beautiful day here on the Avalon. We hope you enjoy the amenities aboard the ship and and don't get homesick, get Homestead. Let's start off our day with one of my favorite Tunes from back on Earth."

A song started playing over the audio system.

Jim got up and stripped out of his boxers and t-shirt and went into the bathroom and turned on the hot water in the shower. He stepped into the stream and allowed the hot water to revitalize him. He shampooed his hair and brushed his teeth.

He got dressed and then combed his hair.

The female voice from his hibernation pod then spoke once more.

"Once you have gotten ready for the day, please go across the hall to room 171 For orientation."

Jim wanted to make an impression towards his fellow passengers when he went to orientation. So he decided to settle on cowboy boots, blue jeans, and after try on several t-shirts until he settled on a button-up shirt with the top button undone.

He then tried on his brown jacket and then was about to rush out the door when he stopped and then went back to the mirror.

"No." he said to himself in disapproval of his look.

He then took off the jacket and decided that he looked better without it. But then again he said, "No."

And then he put the jacket back on. "Just own it Jim, just own it. You got yourself a cool jacket."

He always thought the jacket looked cool and stylish. But in the end he decided to dispense with it. It wasn't exactly like he needed it to keep warm. The ship's ambient temperature was always kept at a comfortable 22 degrees Celsius.

He exited his room and looked up and down the hallway both ways and raised his eyebrows in curious observation that he still saw no people. It was then that he realized that he saw no people the day before when he had woken up. He guessed that they had just missed him, that perhaps they will come out of hibernation first and then he will come after them. He vaguely remembered that when he was exiting the hibernation room that many of the pods were still occupied. Of course obviously they can not wake up all 5,000 people simultaneously. The entire hibernation room would be way over crowded. Likely they wake up one person at a time every few minutes over several days. He wasn't entirely sure what the procedure was. More likely the people wake up in groups. Within the hibernation room the people are all in circles of six.

He entered room 171 where the computer then detected his presence and believing that it was time to give a class,

"Welcome." said an interactive recorded hologram of a woman in a uniform. "Will you all please take a seat."

He then raise his eyebrow in interest as he looked back and forth around the room, still wondering why he was alone, and then took a seat on one of the benches.

'Where is everybody?' he thought with confusion.

"Earth, is a prosperous plant. The cradle of civilization. The Homeworld of the human race. It is beautiful, blue, green, with a restored environment and a thriving society." said the hologram of the woman. "But to many it is considered overpopulated, overpriced, and...overrated."

Jim then couldn't help but interrupt.

"Excuse me. I think there's been some sort of misunderstanding..."

But he was cut off in mid sentence, "Please hold all questions until the end, please."

"Oh, sorry." he said.

"The colonies offer a solution." said the hologram, continuing his though if there had been no interruption.

Lots of space, open country, and room to grow. And there is no colony within the occupied worlds that is more beautiful than Homestead II.

"You all are assigned to learning group 38. Your skills and trades will be most valuable on the colony as with your ability with your hands with technical skills will allow…"

"I'm sorry." said Jim, apparently unable to help interrupting again and insisting over the holographic woman. "But where are all of the other passengers?"

The interactive Holograms artificial intelligence heard his question and computed the most obvious answer to the question.

"We are all on the Starship Avalon." said the holographic woman with a smile.

"Then how come there is nobody else here?" asked Jim.

The artificial intelligence heard his question and computed a correction to what it believed to be an error in his confusion.

"There are five thousand passengers and 258 crew members." said the holographic woman

"Then why am I alone?" asked Jim.

The artificial intelligence then computed his question and determined that he believed that he was without moral support on their journey, and computed an answer.

"We are all in this together." said the holographic woman.

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	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

At this point Jim Preston was starting to get upset.

"I'm sorry," said Jim Preston, "but where are all of the other passengers?" He asked the holographic Woman again.

"We are all on the Starship Avalon." said the Hologram again.

'It's like Siri on your cell phone.' he thought. 'Eventually she's just starting to repeat her answers.'

One thing that he had noticed about artificial intelligence throughout his entire life was that mankind had never truly been able to perfect it. Though they could create a computer program that could think and choose for itself, it's could never truly think and comprehend and adapt the same way that a real human mind could.

He ran out of the room and then ran down to the large room filled with all of the hibernation pods. When he got there he looked around at all of the hibernation pods and realize that every single one of them was still occupied.

'Okay…!' thought Jim in a panic, 'this doesn't quite seem right?!' putting it modestly.

In a desperate attempt, he started to run up and down the hallways of the passenger living module for the next five minutes trying to find someone, anyone!

"Hello!" he called out. "Hello! Is anybody here?!"

He passed through a colossal sized dinning room filled with food dispensers, that could seat 5000.

He went to the upper level of the passenger living module.

"Hello!" he continued to call out.

He then saw a window. When he looked out he saw the rest of the ship in the distance. The ship was over a thousand meters long. He saw the other two luxury modules, that both about the size of extra-large aircraft carriers, as well as the center module as well as the command ring. It was also the engineering section at the center module which would have been connecting to the drive system and the forward Shield generator.

He reached what he believed to be the elevator where he then waved his hand over the glowing panel on the side of the door. The panel detected his ID band on his wrist and then beeps and then the door open for him.

"Please buckle up." said a voice coming out of the wall. "This elevator will experience a momentary lapse in gravity."

Ignoring the warning to buckle up, he began to feel the weightlessness shortly after the elevator started moving. But he held on to the handrails, and eventually started to feel gravity again when he reached the first of the two giant luxury modules that had been across the way from the passengers living module.

The door opened for him and he walked out into another large hall with giant huge Dome Skylight Windows. It looked like a super sized shopping mall right on the ship.

"Grand Concourse." said the voice that came out of the wall.

He stood there at the door of the elevator for a few moments until he took a few steps forward where the Giant shopping mall apparently detecting his presence, came online, starting with the lights and an attractive-looking Fountain by some benches. Then an artificial intelligence 'Help Station' nearby detected his presence and attempted to Signal him to get his attention.

"Hello." said the help station. "Welcome to the Grand Concourse. How can I help you?"

He jogged over to the help station and sort of fumbled with his words, not entirely sure what to ask. He settled on answering the question that the help station had asked him.

"I would like to talk to a person please." said Jim Preston. "A real live person please."

The artificial intelligence analyzed the words that came out of his mouth and attempted to compute a suitable answer. Though his remark was rather generalized so the help station gave him a selection to choose from.

"What sort of person?" asked the help station. "Personal trainer, travel planner, psychiatrist?"

"I don't know." said Jim. "I might actually take you up on that psychiatrist before long, but for right now here at present I will settle for someone 'in charge'."

The artificial intelligence analyzed the words that had come out of his mouth and then attempted to come up with a suitable answer for 'someone in charge'.

"The ship's Steward handles all passenger affairs." said the help station. "It can be located on the third level of the Grand Concourse."

"Thanks." said Jim and he ran off in that direction.

"Happy to help." said the help station.

He ran about a hundred meters down the Grand Concourse, following the signs, and then up a few stairs till he got to the third level near the top of the high Dome glass ceiling. Where he then found an office labeled 'Ship's Stewart'.

But when he entered the door that opened automatically for him the chair behind the desk was empty.

'If I woke up before the other passengers,' he thought to himself, 'then that means that the crew may have woken up before me but the ship's steward is not here.'

He then ran back to the help station.

"Hello." said the help station. "Welcome to the Grand Concourse, how can I help you?"

"Who's flying the ship?" asked Jim Preston.

The artificial intelligence analyzed the words that came out of his mouth and attempted to come up with an answer to 'who was flying the ship'.

"The pilot, the Captain, the flight crew, the chief engineer…"

Jim cut off the help station in mid-sentence and said loudly and firmly, "The Captain! I would like to speak to the Captain!"

The help station felt a need to correct him on that account.

"The Captain rarely handles passenger affairs."

"I absolutely have to speak to the Captain!" shouted Jim. "It's an emergency! Please!"

The help station understanding his plight then computed an answer for him.

"The Captain can usually be found on the bridge on the Command Ring."

He ran to the command Ring. Of course first he went into the elevator.

"Please buckle up." said the voice coming out of the wall. "There will be a temporary lapse in gravity."

He pressed the button for the 'command ring' and he then went to the seat, this time he had the sense to buckle up.

The elevator then took a different route along an elevator track where it was briefly without gravity but then he was in the inner ring that was rotating like the rest of the ship. It was a smaller ring. The gravity actually felt less, because with a smaller ring the centripetal force would be less than on the bigger outer modules.

He went to the bridge and he saw a thick metal door. He waved his right hand over the door sensor where it detected his ID band and the door opened only to reveal another door that seems super metal-reinforced. And then there was a reprimanding sound, that said,

"Bridge access is restricted to authorized personnel only." said the voice that came out of the wall.

He tried again waved his hand over the door sensor which detected his ID band.

"Bridge access is restricted to authorized personnel only."

He looked through the tiny little window on the thick door and saw the inside of the bridge. He saw a few panels and consoles glowing but there were no people in there.

"No one is flying the ship." he said to himself. "This is not good!" he said half anger half panic.

He ran around the command ring and found several other doors. He found the Infirmary. He waved his hand over the door sensor and it allowed him in.

There was no medical staff. No doctor. There was however an 'auto dock'. An auto dock is a glass tube that you lay down in and some laser sensor scan you and tell you what is wrong with you. The machine is also supposed to be able to do minor surgery on you and administer special kinds of medication. Basically every hospital in the entire world had one of these.

He ran out of the room and down the hall of the command ring where he came to another room. It like the bridge had a thick metal door that was super reinforced and he looked through the little window on it and saw more hibernation pods. And he knew that it was the crew. Just the thing is, they were all still asleep.

"What in the world is going on here?" he asked himself. "I'm not supposed to wake up until we are about to arrive at Homestead II."

He ran back to the elevator which then took him back to the Grand Concourse. He exited the elevator and went to the help station.

"Hello." said the help station. "Welcome to the Grand Concourse, how can I help you."

'It welcomes me to the Grand Concourse every single time I approach it.' thought Jim. 'That is going to get really annoying.'

He tried to think about what exactly to help station could do to help him.

'I need information on our coordinates in outer space in proximity to Homestead 2.' he thought.

For that he would need the navigational sensors that would be on the pilot station on the bridge. Of course his ID would not get them into the bridge. He tried to think of something else.

He needed to use his own brain for once rather than just ask the artificial intelligence on the ship to do everything for him. So he thought, cruise ships have observatories. Every cruise ship in outer space has one. The observatories were supposed to be for the amusement of the passengers, but they were also extraordinarily practical ship's systemswise.

"Where can I find the ships Observatory?"

This being a standard passenger question the artificial intelligence didn't need to think about the answer.

"The ship's Observatory can be found at the far aft end of the Grand Concourse."

"Thank you." said Jim.

He then walked off in that direction.

"Happy to help." said the help station.

He found the observatory and walked through the door which then closed behind him. There was a large window that showed the stars outside but then everything went dark. And then stars appeared as Holograms with in the air in the room.

"Hello." said a loud booming deep voice with a dramatic Echoy effect. "Welcome to the observatory. What can I show you?"

"We're supposed to land soon?"

There was no response from the computer.

"I'm the only one awake."

The computer responded analyzing the words that came out of his mouth, they were not Observatory questions.

"I don't understand?" said the computer. "What can I show you?"

Jim then decided to go with what the observatory had asked of him.

"Show me Homestead II." he commanded.

The observatory carrying out it's primary function, all of the stars in the room fluctuated and then a blue and green earth-like Planet appeared in front of him as a hologram.

"Homestead II is the fourth planet in the Bukty system."

"And where are we in proximity to Homestead II right now?" asked Jim.

"We are currently enroute from Earth to Homestead II. We will arrive in approximately 90 years."

"What?" thought Jim.

He paused. His mouth dropped open in shock and surprise as well as in Terror. He stared into empty space not looking at anything at all. At first he thought maybe he had misheard what the computer had said. Yes, that has to be it. Believing that the information that he thought that he had just received was misheard by him.

"I'm sorry, but can I persuade you to say that one more time please? And could you say it loud and slow and speak every word clearly."

The computer following his commands then said, "We are currently enroute from Earth to Homestead II. We will arrive in approximately 90 years, three weeks, and two days, give or take a day."

"You have got to be fucking shitting me!" he said out loud with indignation.

He ran out of the room and then looked around the Grand Concourse. Quickly walking in circles while turning his head left and right. He did this again and again, over and over until he started to get dizzy. And then he screamed at the top of his lungs, and then balled up his fist and punched a wall so hard that it hurt. His hand wasn't broken, but he knew his hand would be sore for days.

Now that he had had his biggest childish fit and tantrum in his entire life he was a little calmer, with a slightly fresh perspective.

Why was he awake and no one else was. He tried to think. Even considered something that no one else would. His hibernation pod malfunctioned. Yes. That has to be it. There's no other explanation. There is absolutely no reason why the ship should be programmed to wake him up now. If his hibernation pod woke him up it's because something went wrong with it. If a hibernation pod breaks then the occupant would die, therefore as a Fail-Safe if the hibernation pod breaks it will sustain the life of the occupant by waking them up.

He then rushed to the help station and while at first he considered that he had always been told that hibernation pods were Fail-Safe, he felt the need to ask somebody.

"Hello." Said the help station. "Welcome to the Grand Concourse how can I help you."

"Can I have you send a message to every other help at the station on the Grand Concourse not to welcome me to the Grand Concourse anymore?"

The help station made some beeping sounds where it then said, "Request stored. No help station will welcome you to Grand Concourse anymore."

"Thank you." he said.

"Happy to help." said the help station.

"Now I have a question." he said. "What do I do if my hibernation pod malfunctions?"

"Hibernation pods are fail-safe." said the help station. "Hibernation pods cannot malfunction."

"Then can you tell me why I'm awake."

"You must have being awoken prematurely by a member of the staff."

"Which member of the staff?"

"That data has not been entered into the ship's data banks."

'That is what the ship's computer came up with.' he thought indignantly. 'Well I guess that it simply thinks that since hibernation pods cannot malfunction it comes up with a highly improbable scenario. I can ask it a set of more complicated questions but I don't want to blow out its logic circuit. Though technically I don't think that that can work.'

He then thought that he needed to ask for help from a human expert.

"How can I send a message into deep space?"

"Deep space messages can be sent from the passengers communication Bay, it is located on level 2 of the Grand Concourse."

"Thanks."

And he walked off.

"Happy to help." said the help station.

A few minutes later he arrived at the passengers Communication Bay. It was basically just a regular room with a glass door. The glass door opened and he entered.

"Hello." said a different voice.

"I would like to send a message please."

"Messages can be sent by laser array. This is an expensive service." said the voice coming out of the wall.

"Just charge it to me."

"Very well." said The Voice.

He sat down at The Chair by the console.

"To whom within the known universe would you like to send a message to?" asked the voice coming out of the wall.

"Earth, the Homestead Company." said Jim.

"There are over 38'200 references for the Homestead Company on Earth."

He closed his eyes, and shook his head in confusion to consider a more specific answer.

"I'm immigrating to Homestead II, and I have an emergency." said Jim.

Out of the 38,000 selections on the screen a single one was highlighted.

"I have a customer helpline for you." said the voice coming out of the wall.

"That sounds about right."

"Please record your message." said The Voice.

"Hi, I'm Jim Preston. I am a passenger aboard the Avalon. And...I'm not quite sure what to say...I think my hibernation pod malfunctioned. I understand that that's not supposed to happen, but I'm the only one awake and everyone else is asleep and the thing is the ship still has 90 years to go before it reaches Homestead 2, and...I don't know maybe it this is all my fault...maybe I missed something...I could just really use some help right now. Thank you."

He then pressed the little green envelope on the touchscreen on the console in front of him.

"Message sent." said the voice coming out of the wall.

Jim raised his eyebrows in approval.

"Alright." he said feeling that he was making progress now.

"Your message will arrive on Earth in 19 years."

"I'm sorry what?" said Jim in immediate disappointment.

"Earliest possible reply 55 years from now."

"55 years?" he said to himself in disbelief and disappointment.

"We apologize for the delay." said the voice coming up the wall. "Your credit card has been charged $6,000."

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	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 **19 hours since Jim woke up:**

Jim made his way to the elevator and headed back to the hibernation hall where the other passengers were.

"Please buckle up and secure any loose items." said the robotic feminine voice in the elevator.

He hit the button for the Habitation Module, and buckled in.

"This elevator will experience a momentary lapse in gravity." said the robotic feminine voice in the wall.

The short ride. Then he exited the elevator.

"Habitation Module." said the computer.

He made his way to the hibernation hall. There again was hundreds of sleeping people. This was not the only hibernation Hall. There were several Hibernation Halls within the habitation module.

He looked around, examining a hibernation pod every now and then. A middle-aged African-American man. An oriental-asian teenage girl with long brown hair. A middle-aged Caucasian woman with short blond hair. One circle of 6 pods seemed to house a family. A middle-aged couple in the first and second pods. While the third pod had what seem to be a girl in her late teens. The 4th pod had a boy in his early teens. The fifth pod had a boy who was a pre-teen. And the sixth pod had a girl barely older than a toddler.

There had been some controversy among doctors and fanatic hundreds of years ago about putting younger children into hibernation. But the people who had perfected and re-perfected the hibernation technology over and over again for hundreds of years claimed that putting a young child into suspended animation was medically harmless.

Jim was vaguely aware of a little piece of fun fact and trivia that centuries earlier when scientists had first discovered how to put a human into suspended animation, that the first few test subject of the prototypes of the first technology of it had suffered massive organ failure if the reanimation process was done incorrectly.

But other than that, today all medical experts say that it's 100% harmless as long as it is done correctly. And that hibernation pods are supposed to be perfect.

He eventually found his own hibernation pod. It was a standout among all the others as it was the only one that was empty and the only one that was open.

When he found the Pod he look it over. The glass of the hatch was fine, though he wasn't sure that would have anything to do with anything. The lights inside were operating fine. As a mechanical technician he handled the metal on the side at the grooves and on the console panel. It's said that the occupant had been discharged. He found a function saying 'Full Diagnostic', and activated it. There were a series of words and numbers that flash by on the little touchscreen worth and said 'diagnostic complete'. And then claimed that the hibernation pod was operating at 100%, except that the 'Time and Date', were offline.

'No Time and Date?' thought Jim with curiosity. 'Is that normal after an occupant discharge?'

He found the circuit board panel on the side underneath the console. He tried to slip his fingernails into the groove but he couldn't. He needed to find himself some tools. He fiddled with his hibernation pod for about another hour until he determined that until he got himself some tools and attempted to take the thing apart, he wasn't going to figure anything out.

Well, that was it. Jim Preston was all burnt out. He couldn't think anymore. He was backed into a corner while on a ship in outer space. He had no way to get himself out of the situation. In actuality hadn't exactly thought of everything. Though the additional things that he had not yet thought of little did he know would not work either, but none the less he needed to relax his mind a little take a load off. He went back to the Grand Concourse to just walk around. It's what he would have done on Earth. He would have gone to a mall or taking a walk on the bike trail.

As he walks yet shut down his brain so he now felt a little better trying not to think of his dilemma.

As he was walking for the first few minutes, looking at all of the different shops and establishments, he then stopped and then backtracked a couple steps because he thought that he saw some movement out of the side of his eye in what seemed to be the ship's Pub.

* * *

The artificial intelligence Arthur, was a recently constructed new model that had been installed into the ship. Recently being just before they had left Earth.

He was one of the more advanced artificial intelligence, personality-wise. He was programmed to actually act human; or at least as close as the A.I. programmers could get it. His primary function was simply to tend bar and serve the customers. And doing that was all that mattered to him. The ship's food synthesizers could artificially manufacturer any quantity of pretty much any drink or beverage known to man. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. As a bartender at a pub he normally suggested some alcoholic beverage to a customer that is trying to enjoy themself. However if the customer asks for water, he will serve them a glass of water. If they ask for a Coca-Cola he will serve them a Coca Cola. If someone asks for a glass of spinach juice he would need to wait a minute while the food synthesizer actually artificially manufactures and dispenses it under the bar, but none-the-less that is what he will serve. His artificial intelligence programmed personality was programmed to make him bond with his customers. To be a trustworthy confidant to the passengers and crew on the ship. Though he was designed to physically look human, and programmed to be fully Interactive personality-wise, he was a feeble imitation of a real human being and more or less just a complacent 'Yes Man'.

For the 120 years that the passengers and crew were in suspended animation he would basically just stand behind the bar perfectly still. As a robot he doesn't get bored or impatient of the passage of time. But that is a moot point anyway, for when there are no passengers around he goes into low-power mode where he's not even conscious. He had been awakened by the ship's systems that had detected the presence of a potential customer. So he came online and started polishing a glass and wiping down the counters. Though both the glasses and the counters were flawlessly clean. Not even any dust, as there was nothing in the Grand Concourse that really produced any dust. Plus the janitorial robots around the ship were supposed to clean everything regularly while the ship was on low-power mode.

Arthur was polishing a glass in the pub when he heard some footsteps up ahead of him near the entrance.

He looked up and noticed a customer walk-in.

"Hello." said Arthur casually while smiling. And then put his attention back to the glass in his hand that he was polishing.

"Oh my god. It's good to see another face." said Jim Preston with a tone of relief. "I thought I was the only one awake."

Arthur misunderstanding the words coming out of his mouth merely computed the meaning as that people should be sleeping at that moment.

Arthur didn't really consider that everyone was still in hibernation, only two remark on business of the day within the Grand Concourse.

"Who wants to sleep on a beautiful day like this?" said Arthur.

"No," said Jim, "you misunderstand, we're not supposed to be here."

Arthur interpreted that that there was something between the two of them that they would both get in trouble for if word about it got out.

"Well then in that case I won't tell if you won't." said Arthur with a smile.

Jim, thinking that Arthur was a human being, was confused by Arthur's remark.

"What?" said Jim in confusion.

"Our little secret." said Arthur with a smile.

Arthur then put down the glass that he was polishing and gave Jim his undivided attention.

"What can I get for you?" said Arthur with a smile.

"What?" said Jim again with confusion.

"You look like a whiskey man." said Arthur merely guessing but not really knowing.

At this point after the day that Jim had had he thought that he could actually use a glass of whiskey, though he was still confused by the behavior of the man in front of him.

"Okay?" said Jim shrugging his shoulders in surrender.

He then saw Arthur turn on the spot and glide to the far side of the bar where he took a bottle of transparent brown tea-colored liquid and then glided back over to his original position.

Jim sprinted right up to the bar to look over the edge where he then saw that from the waist down the man was just mechanical gears that were connected on a track in the floor.

"Oh," said Jim in comprehension. "You're a robot."

"Android, technically." said Arthur.

Arthur placed a napkin on the counter as a coaster, placed a clean empty glass on top of it and then poured an inch of the brown liquid into the glass.

"Arthur's the name." said Arthur.

"Jim Preston." said Jim.

"Nice to meet you Jim." said Arthur with a smile and then he put the bottle back.

Jim took a tiny sip of the strong cough-medicine-tasting liquid. And then set the glass down.

"Do you possess any technical knowledge about this ship?" asked Jim.

Arthur pretend to think about it for a second as he didn't actually need to think about it but he was following his primary function to act 'semi' like a human.

"I don't know." said Arthur. "I know a few things."

Arthur in fact did possess extensive knowledge about the ship, but of course unless asked, like he just was, he was programmed to merely carry out his primary function which was to bond with the customers and tend bar.

"What do I do if my hibernation pod malfunctions?"

Arthur's artificial intelligence scanned the data banks for an appropriate answer to the question that came out of Jim's mouth.

"Oh, hibernation pods are Fail-Safe." said Arthur adamantly with a smile. "They never malfunction."

"Well mine did." said Jim.

"Impossible." said Arthur as he began to polish a glass with his clean washcloth again.

At this point Jim was so fed up with everything on the ship saying that, that he decided to give Arthur's logic circuit a good workout.

"Tell me Arthur, how long until we reach Homestead II?"

"About another 90 years or so." said Arthur.

"And tell me, when are all the passengers supposed to wake up?"

"Not until the last four months." said Arthur giving his answer straight out of the database through his mouth.

"Then answer this question Arthur, how is it that I'm sitting here with you, having this conversation, right here right now...with 90 years to go?"

Arthur was about to give an immediate answer like his primary function was supposed to but his logic circuit then actually did have a problem; it was faced with a concept that it couldn't comprehend where his logic circuit actually then crashed, but a fraction of a second later his redundant systems did their job by giving it a quick reboot and he still remembered the entire conversation right up to the moment of the logic circuit crash. And he simply gave the answer that his logic circuit had crashed over.

"Hmm, it's not possible for you to be here." he said with a smile.

"But yet here I am." said Jim.

"Anything that you would like to talk about." asked Arthur, detecting the concern in Jim's voice and offering his function of bartender wisdom.

Jim thought about that for a second. And then he can sit in an idea, 'why not just go back into hibernation?' He was not entirely sure how to do it, or if the hibernation pod could, but it was worth a try.

"Is there any way to go back into hibernation after someone comes out?" he asked Arthur.

"I don't know." said Arthur. "I'm not a doctor."

"When we bought our tickets and were ready to disembark from Earth we were taken to a facility where medical staff put us into hibernation."

"Well, I'm sure that you will think of something." said Arthur.

Jim downed the rest of his drink.

"Thanks for the drink Arthur."

"Anytime Jim."

Jim suddenly wobbled on his bar stool and held his head.

"It's only been about 21 hours since I came out of my stasis pod." Said Jim. "I think I'm still suffering from post hibernation sickness. I'm going to go back to bed. I'll see you tomorrow Arthur."

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	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 **31 hours since Jim woke up:**

Jim woke up in his cabin. Took a moment to orient himself. Then took a shower. He put on clean clothes, brushed his teeth and went to the colossal communal dining hall.

The communal dining hall was all white. It seemed ominous and eerie to be so quiet and empty. He then realized that he had not eaten the day before. So he had kept himself plenty hydrated, his one glass of whiskey the day before probably was a bad idea on an empty stomach especially fresh out of hibernation.

He walked up to one of the food dispensers and he waved his ID band over it. The food dispenser chimed and then offered him a selection of items. He pressed the button for hot beverages and then gave him a selection. He selected the 'Mocha Cappuccino Extreme' which he was in the mood for.

There was a reprimanding sound from the machine.

"Sorry. The Mocha Cappuccino Extreme is reserved for Gold Class passengers." said the Machine.

'What? You've got to be kidding me!' he thought indignantly. 'After everything else that this ship has thrown at me since I've woken up. I'm starting to think that this ship isn't all it's cracked up to be!'

He press the button again to see if it would work.

"Sorry. The mocha cappuccino extreme is reserved for gold class passengers."

He pressed the button a third time.

"Sorry, the mocha cappuccino extreme is reserved for gold class passengers."

"I would like the mocha cappuccino extreme." said Jim firmly to the machine hoping that it would respond to his voice. "Please just bill it to my room."

"Sorry. The mocha cappuccino extreme is observed for gold class passengers. If you are unsatisfied selection available for you, food and drink may be purchased in one of the ship's restaurants."

'Can't the food synthesizers give me whatever I want regardless of what class of a ticket that I bought?' he thought himself out of curiosity.

He pressed the second button on the selection.

"Sorry, the French Vanilla Express is reserved for gold class passengers."

'Is everything good reserved for gold class passengers?' he asked himself indignantly.

He kept pressing buttons one at a time in quick succession just listening for the word 'sorry'.

"Sorry...Sorry...Sorry...Sorry...Sorry...Sorry...Sorry...Sorry...Sorry...Sorry."

Then when he finally hit the last button on the list.

It was a chime of approval from the machine.

"Large coffee." said the Machine.

"Cream and sugar please?" said Jim.

But the machine merely dispense his coffee to him without offering cream and sugar. "Enjoy your coffee."

"Oh wonderful." he said sarcastically.

He then brought up a selection of food. He then hit the first button though he was pretty sure the food dispenser would not give it to him.

"Sorry. The 'Bacon and Egg Platter' is reserved for gold pass passengers."

He decided to just hit the last button at the end and spare himself the time and aggravation.

"Bowl of oatmeal." said the food dispenser and it then gave him a bowl of plain oatmeal with no sugar on it.

"Thank you." he said, though the food dispenser did not thank him back.

'Okay.' Thought Jim while he ate his food. 'What do I do now?'

He thought for a little while.

'I'm an engineer. I fix things. Perhaps I can fix the hibernation pod. But first I will need tools and I will need technical manuals.'

So after he finished eating he went to the ship's database.

He asked questions to the computer about the hibernation technology.

The computer said that the hibernation technology was 'proprietary' meaning that the technology belongs to the Homestead Company, and therefore access on how to build hibernation pods was not available to anyone who had not signed a nondisclosure form with the Homestead Company.

He searched through the supply section and cargo hold of the ship which was not restricted to passengers. He found an area where hard copy paper documents are kept. He searched through them for hours. There were thousands of them.

* * *

 **Day 4 since Jim woke up:**

He had found the technical documents for the hibernation pods in the ship's cargo hold Library. The technical documents for many of the different Technologies was in alphabetical order so it was not too difficult to find.

He studied it for a while.

It didn't tell him how to build one, but it did explain the workings of several of its primary functions and a few of the primary components. When he looked through it he was fairly confident that he could work with that.

He found a holographic notepad that was a guide through the cargo hold and everything that was stored within it. Much of it was farming equipment and trade goods. But he did find refined materials, of different kinds, spare parts, and tools.

He got himself a toolbox with a variety of different items and a few other things.

He then went to his hibernation pod.

He opened up the circuit board panel and he was pretty sure he could make good headway but he needed to take his time. If the thing was broken he didn't want to break it more.

* * *

 **Day 5 since Jim woke up:**

He wasn't sure what was wrong with it as everything seemed to be in order. But he eventually figured out that a clock chip within the panel on the side had burnt out. According to the technical manuals on his holographic notepad that he was using it said that that couldn't happen. Or rather it was not supposed to happen. But when he ran a computer simulation of a clock chip failure the computer determined that the hibernation pod would begin the reanimation process for the occupant.

He went back to the cargo hold where he then looked through the spare parts where he found replacement clock chips.

He went back to the hibernation pod where he then took out the burnt-out clock chip and inserted the fresh one.

Immediately the display on the touch-screen said that the time and date was now 100% accurate and reliable.

He then hit the button to begin hibernation process.

Of course he was not entirely sure but he hoped that the Pod would put him back into hibernation. The hibernation pod however would only keep him in hibernation but couldn't put him back into hibernation.

He lay down on the comfortable soft surface of the inside where he then just tried to relax as the hatch closed on him. But as he just lay there, nothing happened, he was still very much conscious.

After only 25 seconds of this he felt that this was not accurate and he then tried to get out, only he then realized that the hatch had trapped him inside, and after banging on it for about 55 seconds until the Pod realized that the occupant was awake and trying to get out so it let him out.

'Okay, it's not that easy.' he thought.

* * *

 **Day 6**

In the reactor control room in the engineering section, the reactor computer core module that had been damaged by the small meteorite impact had a live circuit that sparked. It causes a power surge that triggered a high output electromagnetic discharge inside the reactor room itself.

The reactor itself was a high output fusion generator that creates a vortex-like cyclone of light glowing blue plasma energy around itself that then reacts with subatomic particles of their universes own space-time in order to generate a very large quantity of electricity.

The E.M. surge caused the plasma energy to ignite. It was a small fire, but the reactor maintained the flame.

The ship's systems had an emergency feature for just such an event. The systems were supposed to expose the reactor room to the vacuum of space in order to extinguish the fire. But unfortunately that very system was part of the damaged computer module so the system was not able to 'Auto-initiate'.

In the meantime the increased heat of the reactor would cause additional malfunctions and burn out processors slowly gradually one at a time throughout the ship.

On the diagnostic hologram console on the bridge the 'Red Square' indicating the malfunction of hibernation pod 1498 was still on display, but now a second red square came up as a hologram saying 'janitorial robot 179'. The redundant systems attempted to compensate. But unfortunately the processor that controlled that robot remotely had burnt out causing the robot to permanently malfunction.

* * *

"Grand Concourse." said the computer as Jim came out of the elevator.

Jim started walking away from the elevator when suddenly he almost slipped when he stepped on something underfoot.

He looked down and he saw one of the janitorial robots moving around and around in the same spot. It seemed rather unusual to him. It wasn't doing anything; the floor wasn't dirty. There's no garbage to pick up. It seemed as though it had just suddenly lost control of itself. And then stopped and then started zigzagging back and forth.

He reached down and he picked up the little robot. He examined it on all sides. He figured that must have been broken or something so he decided that he would take it with him and fiddle with it in his own time. He set it on one of the benches upside down so that it wouldn't go wandering off.

Jim went to the pub. Arthur was there polishing a glass. He looked up at Jim and set the glass and cloth down and gave Jim his attention.

"Hello Jim." said Arthur with a smile. "What'll you have?"

"Whiskey on the rocks, and make it a double." said Jim.

"You got it." said Arthur.

Arthur gave him the drink.

Jim took a sip.

"How are you doing, Jim?" said Arthur.

"Still working on getting back into hibernation." said Jim. "One of the components in the circuit panel on my pod had burnt out. And I know what you're going to say, that it's impossible. But it happened. None the less, I fixed it, but it doesn't help, the pod doesn't put me back to sleep."

"Is it really so bad that you are awake at present?" asked Arthur.

"What do you mean?" asked Jim.

"There are some people on Earth who are immensely claustrophobic and xenophobic anti-socials. They would love to be in just such a situation like this." said Arthur.

Jim thought about it for a moment and realized that he was right, but at the same time he was thinking long-term.

"Well I'm not one of those people, Arthur." said Jim. "I'm trying to find a long-term solution. I want to get to Homestead 2, and I want to be alive when I get there."

"True." said Arthur. "So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to continue to try and find a way to put myself back into hibernation. I know they say that that can't be done, but at the same time there are people in history who have tried to do things everyone told them that it was impossible. But when they really put their mind to it they figured out someway. Not all the time, but sometimes they did. So I'm going to put on my thinking cap and work the problem."

"Good for you, Jim." said Arthur encouragingly.

* * *

 **Day 7**

Jim was stretched out in the hot tub in one of the luxury modules many swimming pool areas.

There really was nothing like a big vat of warm water to make your muscles relax.

He was going to go to the infirmary to see if he could initiate the hibernation process with the medical equipment in there.

Though of course he would need a place to go to hibernation in and he would need someone to put him there, but one step at a time. He was working a problem that had never been attempted before.

* * *

 **Day 9**

He was still looking over medical articles in the ship's database as well as fiddling with some of the medical equipment. He had found no way to put himself back into hibernation. The 'auto-doc' had a number of functions but apparently they required command level authorization. And he couldn't even figure out what those additional functions were anyway. If he was sick from the flu or something, the auto-doc would scan him and administer some mild sedatives but that would be the limit.

* * *

 **Day 12**

He was taking a break from looking for a way to put himself into hibernation. So far after many days of searching he had not found anything. He thought that maybe if he could get into the bridge or the hibernation room for the crew, he might be able to get his hands and some additional options.

He went to the command ring and attempted to get into the bridge. First he hooked a computer up to the control console beside the door and attempted to hack his way past the security. It kept on overriding him every time he thought he had gotten around the security protocol. Plus he was not an expert computer hacker.

He attempted to use a power screwdriver to remove the bolts and rivets that held the pieces of metal together. But that was no good. Plus many of the primary pieces were welded together.

* * *

 **Day 21**

Jim was at the entrance of the crew hibernation room. He had a tinted mask over his eyes and a welding torch in the other hand. He held the super hot blue flame to the seam around the super protective metal door. He didn't know what exactly that reinforced door was made out of but it was completely indestructible. All around the door and several panels down from the door were black with scorch marks from his attempts to break into the room. There was nothing that he could do. He could not get in. Jim was getting very frustrated and impatient. He had tried power-saws. He had tried sledgehammers. And then of course the welding torch. But it seemed that there was no way to break into the bridge or the crews hibernation room. But he kept on trying.

* * *

 **Day 24**

He had just come from one of the ship's restaurants after eating a steak and baked potato. The ship's waiter robots we're very accommodating, regardless of the fact that the ship had not reached its destination, all of the ships robots carried out their primary function; serve the passengers.

To keep a fresh perspective he made sure to alternate back and forth. He kept studying The Sciences within the computer database on the hibernation technology and the medical records of the hibernation process. He still felt that there was no way to do it but none the less he had to keep on trying. He felt that there was just nothing else that he can do except keep on trying. Some people would have given up by now. But Jim prided himself in having a very strong will. Then he went back to trying to break into the bridge. Then when he got tired of trying he went back to studying the data base on hibernation. Then when he got tired of studying hibernation on the database he went to back to trying to break into the crews hibernation room. And back and forth he went. It kept his perspective fresh.

But in spite of keeping his prospective fresh, and having a strong will, Cabin Fever was starting to creep in on him. He felt trapped. He felt like he was stuck in a cage. He was starting to believe that there was absolutely no solution in sight.

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 **Day 32**

Jim's will was starting to crack. His Cabin Fever was getting stronger. He was lonely for human contact. And his perspective that he attempted to keep fresh had grown old and sour.

"Grand Concourse." said the computer as he exited the elevator.

But at that very moment the door stopped and then rattled and then opened and closed several times as the lights flickered.

Jim turned around to observe the unusual technical anomaly. But a few moments later everything was fine.

'What in the world was that?' thought Jim. 'This can't be right?'

But at the same time he shrugged it off, his mind still on his loneliness and Cabin Fever.

Unbeknownst to Jim, in the bridge at the diagnostic hologram console, there were several giant red squares of Diagnostics claiming that there were malfunctions that the redundant systems were not able to fix.

He walked into the pub with a glum face and sat at the bar stool.

"Whiskey Arthur, neat, and make it a double." said Jim.

"You got it." said Arthur with a smile.

Arthur served him the glass full of whiskey. And then went back to polishing a glass.

"I am screwed Arthur." said Jim with a tone of hopeless resignation. "I can't put myself back into hibernation, and I can't break into the bridge. I am completely and royally screwed!"

"Oh, cheer up Jim." said Arthur with a tone of reprimand in his voice but a smile on his face. "Every cloud has a silver lining."

"Well," said Jim with a tone of sarcasm, "I guess I am going to die of old age on this ship."

"Well, we all die." said Arthur. "Even Androids end up on the scrap-heap eventually."

"Arthur I'm your only customer, why are you always polishing a glass?" asked Jim out of morbid curiosity and irritation at the fact that it was a useless and pointless action.

"Trick of the trade." said Arthur. "People don't like it when a bartender just stands there."

"Well, lay some bartender wisdom on me, I'm lost in space here!"

Arthur then slid on his track in the floor over to Jim and put on a serious face giving him his undivided attention.

Arthur's artificial intelligence then pulled out of the ship's database an old but clever quote from a 600 year old article in the Reader's Digest.

"You're not where you want to be." said Arthur, quoting the self-help line from the database. "You feel that you should be somewhere else...well, let's suppose that you could snap your fingers and be wherever you want to be, I bet that you still will feel out of place, not in the right place. Well, there comes a time when you need to stop worrying about where you would rather be, and start thinking more about where you are."

"So, what exactly is it that I should do." asked Jim.

"Take a break from worrying about where you would rather be, and start paying attention to the benefits of where you are...live a little."

"Live a little?" thought Jim, considering his selfish side, and thinking of just how tired he was of his task.

Arthur's logic circuit felt like elaborating a little bit more on the details of what the line meant.

"You have confirmed for yourself with 100% certainty that you can't go back into hibernation." said Arthur. "And you have more or less figured out that you can't break into the bridge with the tools that you have on hand. So, stop trying. And when I suggest to you to stop trying, I'm merely saying for you to not overwork yourself on something that you know that you have no control over. So relax. If you're going to die of old age before we reach Homestead II, then enjoy the luxury amenities of the ship until it happens. And enjoy the 'freedom' that comes with solitude."

Jim then felt that Arthur was right. He was tired of trying to break into the command ring. And now it was time to take a rest. And not just a slight change of work for his fresh perspective which was starting to not work much anymore, he needed a vacation. And fortunately he was on a luxury liner.

He downed the rest of his whiskey.

"Thanks Arthur." said Jim.

"Anytime Jim." said Arthur with a smile.

Jim went to his toolbox. And he got himself the really big thick and heavy crowbar.

He decided that for his first step in living a little, he might has well get himself a little bit more square footage in his living chambers.

"Habitation Module." said the computer as he exited the elevator.

He made his way past the tiny cabins of the low class passengers and made his way to the area of the gold class passengers.

The hallway looked a lot better. It was flashier. And had a lot more decorations on the walls. As well as a lot more color. He went to the door of one room that he had observed on the ship's schematics. He put the crowbar into the separation of the door and pried it open.

This door was not protected by security or super reinforced. So the force of the crowbar opened the door.

He walked in, and the room's sensors detected his presence.

"Welcome to the Vienna Suite." said the computer.

"All right!" said Jim with a smile on his face. "Now this is what I'm talking about!"

The room was two levels, it had a dining room, a small kitchenette with a food synthesizer, a king size bed, a hot tub, and a super sized bathroom with a wide-open bathtub and shower.

The walls also had holographic landscapes for a much more interesting and colorful view besides just the plain gray walls of the low class cabins, or the stars of outer-space.

The Vienna suite was reserved for one of the gold class passengers that was currently still in hibernation, but for the time being Jim reasoned that he wasn't using it and he'll be gone long before the passenger wakes up.

He did however need to modify the security on his wristband to allow him to come and go.

* * *

 **Day 33**

He went to the Grand Concourse and explored every store. There were gift shops and clothing shops. There were restaurants both fast food and fine dining.

Then he explored the recreational facilities. He went to a standard video arcade from 900 years earlier with old style video games. Apparently there were some people that still like them.

* * *

 **Day 34**

He went to the 'Dance Off'. It was a large video arcade style room with lots of color and neon lights. A holographic dancer appeared. The dancer would do a cool kind of dance where Jim would then need to mimic the dance as best he could and he would then be scored on it.

As time went by he got better and better. And he could also increase the difficulty if he wanted a greater challenge.

* * *

 **Day 35**

He went swimming in the ship swimming pools which also had water slides and diving boards.

* * *

Day after day passed.

He went to the movies. He indulged in extravagant feast at the ship's restaurants. He tried absolutely every one of the luxury and amenities that the Homestead Company had to offer on the ship.

But that's not all he did. Every now and then he would go to the database in the infirmary to study the hibernation technology. Every now and then he would go to the command ring and make some additional feeble attempt to break into the bridge or the crew's hibernation pod room.

* * *

 **Day 99**

A little over two months of fun now. Non-stop fun with the occasional attempt at the hibernation technology or breaking into the command ring.

He had mastered every video game in the video arcade. He had learned how to do a three-point shot in the basketball court every time now. But was a little dull not having an opponent.

He now had all of the top scorers on the Dance Off.

But Arthur's advice to 'live a little', couldn't keep the cabin fever away forever. And he still craved human contact.

* * *

 **Day 152**

5 months since he had awakened from hibernation and he was bored stiff out of his mind.

'This is the reason why lazy millionaires are miserable.' he thought.

He started to realize that without work, without someone to care for, without a reason for being, having all the essentials for living and more, for free, doesn't make you happy.

Arthur was an attentive listener, but a dull conversationalist.

He tried to find additional ways to amuse himself. He fed scraps of food to the janitorial robots and was amused by them immediately coming to clean it up, like feeding bread to ducks.

He started to drink excessively.

He ate until he was sick.

He walked around the ship without clothes on.

And his Cabin Fever kept getting worse.

He tried to make himself feel better with physical exertion. He had taken for himself a punching bag that he got from the ship's fitness center. And he got angry and punched the bag a thousand times until his fists were sore and he was sweating and panting with exhaustion.

"Why am I here?" he asked himself in anger.

He then punched the punching bag again.

"Why does everyone else get to be in hibernation and not me?"

He punched the punching bag again.

"Why am I trapped like this and not be able to make it to Homestead 2!?"

He then punched the punching bag with all his strength 20 times in quick succession until he fell to his knees panting.

"WHY THE FUCK AM I IN THIS SITUATION?" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

He felt like he was locked in a prison cell. A prison cell that was 1,000 meters long that was filled to the brim with good food and every luxury you can think of, but it was still a prison cell. He was not free. And ultimately that is what every man and woman wants, freedom.

* * *

 **Day 291**

Nine months. Nine months since he had awoken prematurely. Jim Preston had reached a new low. He no longer cared about living. What was the point. The ships recreational facilities could no longer amuse him. He still hadn't found anything on how to put himself back into hibernation. He still hadn't been able to break into the bridge.

For the past six months he had taken to breaking down and crying like a little child because he simply felt that there was no way out of his situation. And his moments of breaking down and crying had been becoming more and more frequent.

He wandered the ship in a state of despair. He wondered exactly how he could kill himself. Technically there are a-thousand-and-one ways to die. But even a suicidal person needs the guts to actually carry out the act of actually ending his life. For all intelligent creatures have an instinctive desire to preserve their own existence. But his loneliness and Cabin Fever only continued to get worse. He feared for his own life. Not that something would kill him, but that he would kill himself. And while his self-preservation prevented him from actually committing the act of suicide, his fear of death told him that it was still only a matter of time, so he continued to be afraid.

During his mindless wandering he was now passing through the Hibernation Hall on the habitation module. He took a long swig from his bottle of vodka that he was drinking straight up, where it then went empty.

At least with alcohol there was some relief with the alcoholic buzz in his head. But not this time; he screamed in anger and threw his bottle with all his might and it landed on the ground without breaking and rolled away.

In spite of his nine months on the ship he had not explored everywhere that he had access to. And there was one passenger activity that he had not tried.

He walked into the airlock that was just off of the Hibernation Hall.

Or rather it was an antechamber before the airlock.

The computer detected his presence and greeted him.

"Hello Jim. Would you like to take a spacewalk?" said the computer.

There was a display on the screen for the space suits.

"These space suits are designed to withstand the harsh environment of outer space." said the computer. "Please follow all safety procedures. Please be reassured that you will be tethered to the ship's hull by an unbreakable line at all times. The suits are reinforced to be immune to fast moving projectiles or any kind of sharp object. Nothing short of a low yield explosion will breach the suits. Reassurance to you that they are 100% safe."

In his drunken state he walked right up to the space suit and he closed his eyes and put his arms around it, pretending that it was a real person. But just like his conversations with Arthur, a hard space suit was a feeble imitation of an actual human being, and that's putting it modestly.

He put the suit on, and then he went into the airlock.

The inner door closed. He then walked over to the outer door where he then saw a flashing button by the door. He tried to push it but it was apparently covered up by a safety switch. Clever, something to prevent a person without a spacesuit from accidentally pushing the button.

The instructions told him to lower the safety switch and then push the button.

So, he lowered the safety switch, and then his boots magnetized to the metal floor.

"Magnetic boots activated." said the computer. "Magnetic boots can be deactivated by pressing the button on the console on your arm. Have a wonderful time."

His mind was in a daze as he was trying this. He was sure that it would be an interesting and fascinating experience but at the same time he was still in his state of misery.

He press the red button that was behind the safety switch and the outer doors opened which then evacuated the airlock's atmosphere into outer space. His magnetic boots held his suit to the floor preventing him from being blown out. He walked out of the door where a tiny hole on the outer hull of the ship opened up and a mechanical cable snaked out and then attached to the back of his suit.

"Tether attached." said the computer.

He walked to the edge of the ship. It seemed like there was a path around the edge of the ship for the passengers to take walks on.

He looked out at the stars. They were a long way from the neighboring solar systems. Earth's sun, the Terran star, also referred to as Sol, was still nearby in astronomical terms, but they were heading away from it, and it just looked like a regular star when he looked back behind the ship, maybe slightly brighter than some of the others that he saw but none the less there was no sun nearby to light up the day side of the ship. It was complete darkness, except of course for the stars and the ship's lights. They were in close proximity to the red giant star Arcturus. They would slingshot passed it in another year or so on their current course.

He thought about letting go of the ship from his boots. From the surface that he was standing on though his boots were magnetized. He could still feel the centripetal force of gravity from the ship spinning.

He pressed the button on the console on his arm and his boots demagnetized and he leaped off of the ship.

He floated out into space. Of course his tether prevented him from him from truly floating away. Once his tether had reached its limit he then just sat there in the weightlessness of outer space. He looked around at the stars. Thousands of them. Too many to count. And how many stars were those that he could see? He couldn't even see every star in the galaxy. And then the Milky Way galaxy had roughly two hundred billion stars. 200 billion?! And what about the rest of the universe. The rest of the universe has millions of galaxies. Each Galaxy having billions of stars. He then considered that he was such a small and insignificant piece of a much larger universe, and when he looked around in his spacesuit it was just so beautiful. This was an amazing experience, but yet the fact that he couldn't share it with anyone...that he couldn't share it with a wonderful woman...what was the point in going on? What was the point to anything that he had anymore?

He activated a function that had the tether ravel him in and he then re-entered the airlock.

He exited through the inner door of the airlock and took off his space suit.

"We hope you enjoyed your EVA." said the computer. "We hope that you will join us again for another thrilling experience."

'Another thrilling experience?' he thought indignantly. 'Yes. The experiences are thrilling, but pointless in this miserable existence that I live!'

He then figured out why there was nothing that he could do about his situation; with the hibernation pods supposed to be so fail-safe, The Homestead Company had taken so many precautions to prevent his current situation from ever happening in a million years in the first place that they lacked imagination on some kind of contingency protocol for if it somehow in the highly unlikely event actually did ever happen for the first time. Like the Titanic with not enough life-boats.

'I can't go on!' he thought with a determination of finality and hopeless despair.

He then had an idea. A quick death that would be relatively painless.

His face was wet with tears. His eyes were red and bloodshot. He hadn't showered in weeks, hadn't shaved in months, and had bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. He was on a ragged old t-shirt and shorts and barefoot.

He walked into the airlock. The inner door closed. He walked to the outer door, where he placed his hand on the safety switch and lowered it.

"Have a wonderful time." said the computer thinking that he was wearing a spacesuit and was about to go out.

He poised his finger over the red button. Without a spacesuit, the moment his finger touches the red button the outer doors would open and he would be blown out into space. The vacuum of space would explosively decompressed his body...and his suffering would be over.

His hand shook as his finger poised over the button. He was afraid. Afraid of death. He did not want to die. As much as he knew that it would be a relief if he did die, he was not prepared in that moment to have his suffering end in this fashion by dying at his own hand.

He moved the safety switch back up over the red button and exited through the inner door. He was disgusted with himself that he was just about to kill himself. He ran out of the antechamber and into the Hibernation Hall just wanting to escape the airlock that had almost killed him, although it would have been his fault. He didn't get very far though because he then slipped on his own discarded liquor bottle. His feet flew up into the air and his momentum took him forward where he then slammed flat on his back.

He groaned in pain. But at the same time the pain seemed to knock some sense into him.

So he just lay there for a while. And decided to just relax on the flat metal floor, surrounded by the hundreds passengers in suspended animation. Once he gets over the pain he would choose to get up.

 **Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 **Day 291**

Jim lay on the floor trying to compose himself after his failed suicide attempt. Though this 'failed' suicide attempt did not result in his injury, just a very bruised ego. He thought himself stronger than this psychologically, and he had failed himself. He thought himself better than this morally and emotionally, and he had failed himself.

He cried for about a minute like a little child. But then he stopped, took a deep breath, let his breath out, and then he felt a little bit better.

He turned onto his side and pushed himself onto his hands and knees where he then got to his feet. He stretched out and felt the relief of several joints pop.

He turned towards the door that would lead him back to his stolen Vienna Suite, but then he caught sight of something. The occupant of one of the hibernation pods.

He took a step closer and realized that it was an extraordinarily beautiful woman. She was Caucasian, had short blonde hair, and clear flawless skin. He didn't know what color eyes she had because her eyes were closed. But simply by her physical appearance in her relaxed state in suspended animation he had never seen a woman more beautiful than her before; though that may have just been exponentially amplified because of his loneliness.

He observed the display panel on the side of her pod.

Name - Aurora Lane

Place of residence - New York City, New York State, USA

Occupation - Writer

But his attention was focused on her first name. Aurora. Right here right now in this his darkest hour. Why did he only notice her pod now. Of course he had not examined the occupants of every pod on the entire ship. But right now at his strongest moment of suicide he notices her pod and he notices her name. She was beautiful, and she was asleep. Aurora, was the name of Sleeping Beauty in the fairy tale, it was almost like it was a sign. Though that may have just been the alcohol talking.

"Aurora." he said out loud.

* * *

"Grand Concourse." said the computer as he exited the elevator.

He ran to the pub. He was eager to sober up so he needed a stimulant.

"Hey Arthur." he said. "Could I get a black coffee please, and make it extra strong?"

"No problem." said Arthur with a smile. "Just give me a minute to brew it."

Arthur then reached under the bar to fiddle with the food synthesizer that started to immediately brew extra strong black coffee.

"Arthur?" said Jim.

"Yes Jim." said Arthur.

"I just saw the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen."

"Oh?" responded Arthur.

"She's in a hibernation pod right now." said Jim. "Her name is Aurora. After I down some of that extra strong coffee I'm gonna learn a little about her."

" Good for you Jim, and I hope you're feeling better." said Arthur encouragingly. "You've seemed a little glum lately."

"Cabin Fever." said Jim.

"Ahh." said Arthur in understanding. "Let me know if there's anything that I can do."

Arthur then handed Jim the ceramic mug full of extra strong black coffee.

"Thanks Arthur." said Jim. "I appreciate it. And I'll let you know. Is it okay if I take the ceramic mug with me? I'll bring it back, I promise."

"Of course Jim." said Arthur.

* * *

Jim went to the database computer terminal in one of the rooms on the Grand Concourse.

He looked up the passenger manifest list.

He found Aurora Lane's name in alphabetical order and highlighted it and hit enter.

Her profile came up with a whole bunch of interview videos of her talking to the camera, along with hundreds of pages worth of her work that she had written.

He selected her first interview video. If then came up on the holographic screen.

And there she was. Looking at the camera and she started telling her story.

"Hi. My name is Aurora Lane. I'm a writer. I'm from New York City. And I would like to go to Homestead II so that I will have an extraordinary story to write and tell."

"Your father was Pulitzer Prize winner Oliver Lane?" said the interviewer who was behind the camera.

"Yes. I guess I have a lot to live up to. No pressure, right?"

Both she and the interviewer laughed at that. Even Jim himself laughed.

"So tell us a little bit more about your profession. Is it just your father who inspired you to write?"

"Well. I believe, as a writer, that we tell each other stories in order to make contact. To make us believe that we're not alone.

"My father said that if you want to be a writer then the first thing that you need is...well, stories. But you can't just write any old stories, no, you need to write really good stories. And if you live an ordinary life then you will only have ordinary stories. If you want to have good stories to write about, you have to live a life of adventure. So, here I am, ready to make the ultimate leap of faith for the ultimate adventure."

The interview went on for a few more minutes and then the video ends.

Jim gulped at his warm coffee, feeling the bitter taste and strong caffeine revitalize him. He had a new fascination in this woman. Even though he'd only seen her in her hibernation pod for the first time about 55 minutes earlier.

He then looked up some of her work. The database on the ship was so big that it held almost half the internet.

She wasn't a novelist, but she had written a few short stories for fiction. She was mostly a journalist for a number of different newspapers. She had interviewed celebrities. She had written human interest pieces about random citizens boring lives whenever they did something extraordinary within the community.

He wasn't just a sex starved man who was obsessing over a pretty face, he was genuinely interested in her. He listened to her words both when he watched her videos and when he read her work. He always tried to grasp the meaning and message that her method of words tried to impart.

* * *

 **Day 305**

Jim was showered and clean shaven. Apparently just for reading Aurora's work or watching her videos was something that he liked to make himself presentable for. As though she was actually there in front of him judging him for his appearance.

He thought it was silly, but with only Arthur for company what was the point in not being silly.

For two weeks he had been obsessed with Aurora's work. He read everything that she had ever wrote. He wasn't just a lonely guy that would settle for any pretty face, no, he had fallen in love with her mind. On the inside she was everything that he wanted in the perfect woman.

He was sitting in the pub, drinking a cup of coffee. As he had attempted to cut down on the booze.

He had a holographic notepad with Aurora's work downloaded onto it just reading one line after another, his mind assimilating the message that Aurora's work was trying to convey to the reader.

"She is good." said Jim out loud half to himself half to Arthur.

Arthur was polishing the beer tap.

"Who?" asked Arthur.

"Aurora." said Jim.

"Ah. The sleeping girl." said Arthur.

"Have you ever read something and felt like the author was talking directly to you? Or that the content was written just for you?"

"I don't know." said Arthur. "I don't do a lot of reading."

Jim was quiet for a while thinking.

"You know Arthur, I have a firm belief that the Universe is not evil, but I will say it does seem to have a cruel sense of humor."

"How so?" asked Arthur.

Jim gazed into empty space with a look of both sadness and awe.

"You get to fly through space to another world, but you'll die of old age along the way!" said Jim in a tone of both disappointment and amazement. "And you meet the perfect girl...and she's just beyond your reach!...As I said, cruel sense of humor, the Universe."

"Interesting concept." said Arthur as he had finished with the beer tap and head started on a glass.

* * *

Jim was in his room, the Vienna suite. Where he was watching another one of Aurora's videos. The interviewer then asked Aurora on the holographic screen, "What will you miss the most about New York City?"

"What will I miss the most?" said Aurora. "I think what I'll miss the most is the nature of Central Park. The vista of the city lights at night. I love New York City as inspiration for my mind. Give me a cup of coffee and a view of the Chrysler Building and I could write all day.

"They do have coffee on Homestead II, right? If they don't have coffee on Homestead II, I'm going to have to turn around and come back."

And both she and the interviewer laughed.

'I wish that I could get back into hibernation and have a cup of coffee with you in 90 years.' Jim thought to himself errantly, thinking of Aurora. 'Perish the thought, but maybe the Clock-Chip in your...pod...will malfunction...as well...?' his thoughts strayed off as he began to reflect and contemplate on an idea.

He looked over at a technical manual for the hibernation pods. Though he could not put himself back into hibernation, his new found technical knowledge on the hibernation pods could allow him to recreate the accident on a hibernation pod clock chip under controlled conditions.

'No!' he thought to himself in self-condemnation. 'That's insane! You'd be stranding her on the ship the same as yourself!'

But at the same time his loneliness and Cabin Fever attempted to override his conscience.

Psychologically and morally in a situation like this all a person needs is someone else's permission.

* * *

"Grand Concourse." said the computer as he exited the elevator.

He walked into the pub.

"Hello Jim." said Arthur with a smile. "What can I get for you?"

"Imagine you were on a deserted island and suicidal with loneliness," started Jim, "but then you possessed the ability to teleport anyone that you wanted to the island to be with you, and then you wouldn't be alone anymore, but to do so would strand them forever as well...would you make that choice?"

Arthur's artificial intelligence scanned the words that came out of his mouth and then analyzed the scenario that Jim had given him only for it to be made completely null and void with the fact that Arthur had no frame of reference from first hand experience himself.

"I don't know." said Arthur. "I have never been on an island."

"Okay," said Jim, "forget the island. Let's say that you were all alone for a long time, living and absolute miserable existence, but then suddenly you could bring someone to you who's mere presence would make your life a million times better, but you knew it was morally wrong and once you do it there's no taking it back. How do you make a choice like that?"

For that scenario Arthur's logic circuit simply told him that the scenario was illogical.

"Jim, these are not robot questions." said Arthur.

Jim paused for a moment but then just let it out.

"I know how to wake up Aurora." Jim told Arthur.

Arthur smiled and nodded.

"Well that's a fine idea. You could use some company."

"Yes, but to do so would strand her on the ship and doom her to die of old age before we reach Homestead II."

"Oh." said Arthur. "Well you can't do that."

"Arthur, what am I going to do?" said Jim out loud with a tone of despair.

"Well, you've always got me." said Arthur.

"No Arthur." Said Jim in a tone of frustration. "I do not have you."

He started to poke at Arthur and hit him.

"You are a machine. You don't have feelings."

He then slapped Arthur in the face.

"You see Arthur. That doesn't hurt. And you probably don't even mind."

And it was true. Arthur did not have the capacity to feel offense. His logic circuit told him that it was unusual behavior for a customer, but he was not offended by anything that Jim did.

* * *

 **Day 307**

He was in the hibernation room standing beside Aurora's pod just looking at her. Admiring her face. He was wanting to wake her up, while at the same time not wanting to cuz he knew that it was wrong.

* * *

 **Day 310**

Jim stood beside Aurora's hibernation pod as he looked at her. He got down on his knees beside the pod and he pulled out the circuit board panel. He then placed two electrical wires on either side of her clock chip. He then lifted the electrical circuit that he was going to activate which would charge far too much power through the chip which would then cause it to be interrupted from the time and date setting on her pod's computer core.

But just before he did it, his conscience told him, 'No! Don't do it!' where he then remove the two electrical leads to the chip where he then packed up his toolbox and walked out of there.

The thing is is that this is not the first time that this had happened. He had already attempted this the day before. And the day before that. And two days before that. Several times he thought about it and then stopped himself before he really did anything. This was all that went on inside of his head. His loneliness and Cabin Fever would tell him to do it and he would make up his mind to do it, where his conscience and moral judgment would tell him to not do it.

* * *

 **Day 328**

He had made up his mind a couple dozen times to wake up Aurora we're then his conscience told him to not do it. It was getting out of hand. Was driving him crazy.

Today however he made a resolution. He was going to stop thinking about her. He was going to cut her off. He wasn't going to go and visit her pod anymore.

He walked into the pub and there as always was Arthur who was waiting for him.

"Hello Jim. What can I get for you?"

"Beer, make it a pint."

"You got it."

Arthur took out a large pint glass and filled it to the top from the tap with the clear transparent yellow foamy liquid.

Arthur gave it to him, and then picked up a glass and clean rag and started polishing the glass.

"You seem to be a little bit more cheery today." said Arthur in observation.

"Yes Arthur, because, I would like to announce that there will be no more Aurora talk. I'm over it. Done. You're not going to hear me talk about Aurora anymore."

"Good for you Jim. I'm proud of you." said Arthur with a smile.

But Jim sat there for a little while and silently pondered.

"Of course I have to stop thinking about her." he reasoned logically. "What am I going to do, just think about her for the rest of my life? I mean, it's like an addiction. You can't just keep going after the thing that you can't have. An addict needs to avoid the thing that he is addicted to. When an alcoholic is trying to get over alcohol do you think he's just going to sit around all day with a bottle of whiskey right in front of him?"

Arthur just nodded as a person who wasn't attentive listener would do. Jim's reasoning seemed sound but Jim himself, could he really commit to that.

* * *

 **Day 339**

Sometimes he went several days without visiting Aurora in the hibernation Hall.

He continued to talked on and on about Aurora all the time in the pub. Arthur, continuing to carry out his primary programming of bonding with his customers was just a complacent yes-man. Always agreeing with Jim no matter what Jim said.

Jim had been spending an extra amount of time with Arthur in an attempt to overcome loneliness, for what good company Arthur was.

He still continued to make up his mind to wake her up again and again, and again and again kept telling himself not to do it and he didn't. Ultimately nothing has changed since his resolution that he was over her.

He continued to make the occasional feeble attempt to find a way to put himself back in hibernation, or to break into the bridge. But his attempts were becoming feebler and feebler and significantly less frequent.

* * *

 **Day 386**

He stood beside Aurora's hibernation pod with his toolbox. This was it. For the thousandth time he had made up his mind to wake her up. His conscience was telling him not to do it, but it was different this time. He wasn't in his right mind. He truly was crazy and insane. His loneliness and Cabin Fever had not been higher.

He knelt beside the hibernation pod and opened up the circuit board panel just like he'd done several times already.

'Don't do it you fucking coward!' his conscience reprimanded him. And he was sick to his stomach with the guilt of what he was about to do.

While his loneliness and Cabin Fever, which had never been higher, kept telling him, 'you're going to commit suicide if you don't wake her up so at this point it's either you or her.'

His loneliness and Cabin Fever also told him that, 'maybe she would understand one day.'

His conscience told him, 'what if she doesn't even like you.'

And around and around his conscience and loneliness went. Several times a second it went around and around. He wanted to shoot himself in the head with guilt. He wanted to throw up with guilt. But at the same time he just didn't want to be alone anymore.

He couldn't stop himself. He put the two electrical leads on the clock chip.

He couldn't stop himself.

He shut his eyes, and wanting to shoot himself with guilt, he charged the wire with electricity.

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	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Aurora Lane breathed deeply as she felt consciousness. Her body felt like lead. She couldn't remember anything or why she was there. Her mind was a complete blank.

"Good morning Aurora." said a pleasant feminine voice from directly in front of her. "How are you feeling?"

Aurora blinked her eyes open, but did not answer the question. She then noticed a holographic woman right in front of her.

"It's perfectly normal to feel confused. You just spent 120 years in Suspended animation."

Then some started to come back to her.

"Just breathe Aurora." said the holographic woman. "Everything is okay. Let's take a look at your vitals."

Aurora, still trying to remember, but visually aware of everything around her now, noticed that her pod was being mechanically moved over to an area which was basically a giant laser scanner.

The giant laser scanner swept over her and then a holographic display came up off to the side which then showed her vitals.

"We're on the Starship Avalon, right?" said Aurora through the scratchy voice of a dry throat.

"That's right Aurora." said the holographic woman.

"The Homestead Company's Premiere Interstellar Starliner. We have nearly completed the voyage from Earth to Homestead 2. Your new home. A new world, fresh start, room to grow."

"Slogans in advertising." said Aurora rolling her eyes.

"The Avalon is on Final Approach. For the next 4 months you will experience space travel at its most luxurious, food, fun, friends."

Aurora put on a small smile.

"The ID band on your wrist is your key to the wonders of the Avalon. Unlike many of the other passengers on the ship you are a Gold-class passenger. This affords you special privileges among the many luxury amenities aboard the ship."

The holographic display off to the side showing her vitals gave a pleasant chime.

"You are in perfect health Aurora. Let's get you to your cabin so that you can get some rest. Please go down the aisle until you find door number 401."

Aurora felt that she was strong enough to walk so she managed to to climb out of her hibernation pod and stumble her way down the aisle towards the door.

When she reached the door she paused, and then she looked around. Every other hibernation pod was still occupied. Normally a newly awakened passenger would not be lucid enough to notice this, but everyone is different, and some passengers are more lucid after they wake up than others.

She frowned in confusion at this anomaly but she went through the door.

She was only wearing a tank top and shorts. Which was the standard clothing for being in hibernation.

"If you are so inclined, please change into some gray pajamas and a bathrobe."

She took some grey pajamas and a bathrobe of her size and went into a cubicle. She put the gray pajamas on over her tank top and shorts and then put on the gray bathrobe.

"Please go to the end of the hall and then turn left." said the voice of the computer. "You may be experiencing post hibernation sickness."

Aurora made her way there and then turned.

"Your door will illuminate for you." said the computer.

She saw the illuminated door and walked towards it.

When she reached her door she continue to look up and down the hallway and still noticed no people. She was either the first to wake up, or everyone else was in their rooms. But at the same time she had not seen any other empty hibernation pods. She was becoming more and more curious about this by the second.

She waived her right hand over her door and the door sensor detected her ID band. The door gave off a pleasant chime and the door opened for her. She walked into a long hallway.

"Welcome to the Utopia Suite." said the pleasant feminine computer voice.

The lights came on as she entered her room.

She then saw the holographic woman that was right in front of her face when she had woken up.

"Welcome to your cabin, your home until we make landfall. For the next four months you will prepare for your new home on Homestead 2. Meet your fellow passengers, take skill building classes, and learn about Colonial living. You have been assigned to learning Group 17, for people with creative and artistic talents. Please scan your ID to confirm luggage delivery."

She then looked over at the side of the wall and saw that her bags had appeared out of a hidden compartment in the wall.

She waved her right hand over the holographic woman where it then detected her ID band on her right wrist.

A hole in the wall then produced a tall plastic glass which then dispensed a stream of pink water.

"To help recover from hibernation sickness please drink plenty of fluids. Also to recover from hibernation sickness we highly encourage you to take a nap for the rest of the day. Please enjoy the rest of your stay aboard the Avalon, a Homestead Company Starship.

Then the holographic woman disappeared.

Aurora gulped down the entire glass of pink water where she then put it back into the water dispenser.

"Can I get some more please?" she said while looking at the water dispenser.

On que, the water dispenser, as though hearing her voice and being fully interactive, refilled the glass. Where she then began to gulp that down as well.

She looked around her room. It was large and luxurious with lots of square footage. She went into the other room where she found a bathroom with a large wide open shower and bathtub. In the bedroom she found a queen sized bed along with a lot of closet space.

Out in the main area she found a sofa along with a small kitchenette and dining room table.

But at the same time she was more curious about the anomaly of her being the only one awake back in the hibernation Hall.

She went over to the small kitchenette and she found the function for the food synthesizer to brew her a pot of coffee.

After a little bit of studying, she realized that it was voice operated.

"Black coffee please." said Aurora to the machine.

The coffee begin to brew and in about 55 seconds there was a full pot for her.

She found a ceramic mug, filled it and started to drink. The black strong liquid was scolding, but she did not leave her cabin until she had finished two full mugs.

She still felt extremely sleepy. Thinking how ironic it was that she needed to sleep after she wakes up from suspended animation, she exited her cabin and walked down the hall towards the hibernation Hall.

When she came into the hibernation Hall again surprised to see that all of the other hibernation pods we're still occupied and not a single one was empty.

"Hello." she called out. "Is anybody here?"

She went back into the hallway leading to all the cabins.

"Hello. Is anybody here?"

She still received no answer.

She continued to call out, "hello, is anybody here", over and over again.

She made her way to the elevator after she had searched up and down the habitation module for a while. The elevator then transported her to the large luxury module across the way.

"Please buckle up and secure any loose items." said the computer. "This elevator will experience a momentary lapse in gravity."

A short ride later.

"Grand Concourse." said the voice of the computer as she exited the elevator.

"Hello. Is anybody here."

She continued to call out. She was starting to get worried.

'What in the world was going on?' She couldn't figure it out. 'Why was no one else awake?"

"Hello?" she heard a man's voice from across the Grand Concourse.

She turned in the direction of the voice and there was a man walking towards her. He was dressed in dirty work pants and a button-up shirt. His hair seemed clumsily recently cut, and the five o'clock shadow on his face showed a couple days growth. He seemed hesitant as though he was extraordinarily surprised to see her.

"Hi. Are you passenger or crew?" asked the Aurora.

"Passenger. My name is Jim Preston."

"Aurora Lane." said Aurora. "Where is everybody? No one else in my group down in the hibernation Hall woke up with me?"

"Same for me." said Jim Preston.

Aurora then tried to contemplate what that meant exactly.

"Are you saying that nobody else is awake?" asked Aurora.

"Just me." said Jim

"Just you?" said Aurora in disbelief.

"Just us." Jim corrected more thoroughly clarifying.

"But this can't be right." said Aurora. "We're supposed to be landing soon."

"You are in for a rude awakening." said Jim with a tone of half sarcasm half sadness. "I determined shortly after I had woken up that my hibernation pod had suffered a very unlikely system failure which started the reanimation process of my hibernation pod early. My guess is that somehow it happened to yours as well."

"Hibernation failure?" said Aurora as she put on a look of confusion. "I was under the mistaken impression that that was impossible."

"That's what I've been told my whole life, including by the ship's computer ever since I woke up." said Jim. "But first let me show you."

He led her to the observatory.

When they walked into the room everything went dark and a thousand holographic Stars appeared in the air around them.

"Welcome to the observatory." Said the computer in a deep loud masculine echoy voice for dramatic effect. "What can I show you?"

"Show me Homestead 2." said Jim Preston.

"Homestead 2 is the fourth planet in the Bakty System." said the computer.

"And where are we now?" asked Jim.

"We are currently enroute from Earth to Homestead 2. We will arrive in approximately 89 years."

"89 years?" said Aurora indisbelief. "How can the be? Why did our hibernation pods malfunction now? Where's the crew?"

"Let me show you." said Jim.

He brought her out of the observatory and then took her to the elevator. He hit the button for the command ring.

"Please buckle up and secure any loose items. This elevator will experience momentary lapse and gravity."

After the short trip to the command ring. They walked down the ring that was so small that you can actually see the curve in the floor and ceiling.

He then brought her to a door.

He waved his ID band on his right wrist over the door sensor where it gave off a chime and the door opened only to reveal her more reinforced door. Around the door panels were scorch marks from fire or a blowtorch that Aurora had noticed.

It was also burning scorch marks on the reinforced door which still appear to be completely intact. She walked around some cluttered tools that were on the floor. She gazed through the very small window in the door and saw more hibernation pods.

"The crew is in a secure hibernation chamber." he said. "Everything in the command ring are super reinforced. Other than the infirmary and a supply room we can't get in."

Aurora, still in a state of shock and disbelief stepped away from the door and then looked around at the clutter on the floor. It appeared to be boxes and dulled power saws. A sledgehammer. Some crowbars. And a few blow torches with empty fuel cartridges.

"How long have you been awake?" she asked fearing the answer.

"A year and 3 weeks." said Jim.

Aurora then started to have a full-scale anxiety attack. She felt a charge of adrenaline. She felt her heart pounding in her chest.

She suddenly found it extremely difficult to breathe.

"No! No, no, no, no, no! This can't be happening!"

"Aurora?" said Jim formally in an attempt to calm her.

"We have to get back to sleep!" said Aurora in a panic. "We need to go back into hibernation!"

She ran to the elevator and went into it before Jim could get to her.

Jim went to a different elevator.

"Habitation module." said the computer as Aurora ran out of the elevator in a panic.

She made it to the hibernation Hall where she then was surrounded by hundreds of occupied hibernation pods. She ran up and down the aisles trying to find her hibernation pod, believing that if she could get back her back into hibernation and she could forget about all of this.

She was then grabbed from behind and spun around where she was face-to-face with Jim Preston and he held her by the shoulders firmly.

"It doesn't matter Aurora!" said Jim firmly. "It doesn't matter."

But when he realize that he was holding her tightly by the shoulders he felt that maybe that was border lining on physical harassment and he quickly withdrew his hands.

"I will help you find your hibernation pod."

In the last 10 seconds she had calmed down just a little bit and nodded at his offer to help her find the Pod.

They got to the hibernation pod.

"I have been studying the hibernation pod technical manuals for months." said Jim Preston. "You can start the thing up again and you can climb back in but it won't do you any good. Remember the facility that we went to back on Earth before we left orbit. All of those medical procedures that they put us through and then we fell into a dreamless coma? You can only go into hibernation under medical supervision from a team of doctors. The hibernation pods are only intended to keep us in hibernation but once we come out of hibernation we can't go back into hibernation."

In spite of the two cups of coffee, she was still feeling physically fatigued and her mind was starting to go fuzzy again as her eyes kept drooping and her head got heavy.

"You know what Jim?" said Aurora. "I know that I should be working the problem, but right now I just feel so...drained."

"Hibernation sickness." said Jim. "I experienced it myself when I woke up. Though I don't think I was as lucid as you. When I went to my cabin when I first woke up I fell asleep on my bed right away for many hours. When you get out of suspended animation it'll be a few days until you're at full strength. You really should take a nap."

"I think you're right." said Aurora and then she started to make her way towards her room.

"I will walk you to your cabin." said Jim trying to be helpful.

"That's unnecessary Jim. Thanks though."

She walked ahead of him for a few steps or she stopped and then turned around towards him.

"A year? All by yourself? I can't imagine. It must have been hard."

"It was." said Jim.

"Good night Jim." said Aurora.

"Goodnight Aurora." said Jim.

* * *

Jim Preston went to the pub. Arthur then appeared right in front of him from behind the bar and gave him his attention.

"Hello Jim. What can I get for you?"

"Whiskey, neat."

"Sure thing."

A few moments later Arthur had placed a napkin on the counter as a coaster, placed a clean empty glass on the napkin, and poured an inch of whiskey into the glass.

"Thanks." said Jim.

"No problem." said Arthur.

Arthur then put the bottle of whiskey back and then was in front of Jim again where he then started polishing a glass.

Arthur noticed that Jim had a face that was full of distress.

"What's the matter Jim? You look extremely more glum today than normal."

"I woke up Aurora." said Jim with a tone of extreme regret in his voice.

"Congratulations." said Arthur with a smile on his face.

"I killed her Arthur." said Jim with a tone of more guilt than anyone had ever had before. "I took her life. She will die of old age before she reaches Homestead 2. She can't go back to sleep, and she is stranded on this ship just the same as I am."

"I see." said Arthur contemplating the full ramifications towards Aurora's life from Jim's actions. "Well, I guess that there is only one thing that you can do."

"What's that Arthur?" asked Jim.

"Take full advantage. You may feel guilt and regret your actions of waking her up, but at the same time right here right now, to not take full advantage of her companionship now would mean that your waking her up was all in vain."

"True." said Jim in agreeance.

And of course under his cabin fever and loneliness he only woke her up for companionship, so of course he already had planned, with or without guilt, to take full advantage of whatever companionship she could offer. Still though, just like his conscience had stopped him from waking her up a thousand times for the last 3 months, he wish that he could go back and choose to not wake her up one more time. But it was done. The matter was over with. The only thing he could do now is look to the Future. And if it was any consolation to her he had every intention of kissing her ass for the rest of her life.

"Arthur can you keep a secret?" asked Jim.

"Jim." said Arthur with a tone of disappointment on his face as though Jim would even ask such a question. "I am not just a bartender, I am a gentleman."

"Don't tell Aurora that I woke her up. She thinks that was an accident. Let me tell her in my own time."

"Of course." said Arthur.

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	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

 **Day 387 since Jim woke up**

Aurora Lane, woke up. She was still in the gray pajamas that she had been dressed in by the ship after she came out of stasis. The reality of her situation came back to her, she was stuck on a ship that was not going to reach Homestead 2 before she died of old age.

None-the-less, she was going to try to solve the problem. She was going to work the problem.

She got out of bed. She told the food synthesizer in the kitchenette to brew her a pot of coffee. She stripped down to nothing, where she then went into the giant wide open shower. She revitalized in the hot water that poured down on top of her from above. She washed her hair. And then got out. She rubs herself down with a large thick fluffy white towel. She brush her teeth. She dried and fixed her hair to be presentable.

She went to her luggage and dressed herself in casual attire, or at least semi-formal-casual. She had always lived an extravagant lifestyle, mostly because her father had a lot of money.

She pulled out an electronic device; a holographic notepad with a microphone with voice recognition technology. She turned it on, selected a function and hit 'Voice Typing'.

"Journal Entry," said Aurora out loud to the empty room at large, "Aurora Lane...July 24, 2950,"

The holographic screen automatically typed out everything she said word for word.

"Something has happened to me. I am aboard the Starship Avalon, just as I am supposed to be. Except for the fact that I have awoken from hibernation prematurely. My hibernation pod somehow malfunctioned. From everything that I have heard my whole life, that is supposed to be impossible. But yet it happened. I'm going to attempt to work the problem. I'm going to try to figure something out. Right now I'm starving and a little hungover. I think that's the result of hibernation. I'm going to go find something to eat.

"End entry."

* * *

"Grand Concourse." said the computer as she exited the elevator.

She walked over to the ship's computer 'Help Station'.

"Hello." said the artificial intelligence. "Welcome to the Grand Concourse, how can I help you?"

"I would like information about hibernation technology." said Aurora.

"Human hibernation is a delicate medical process, involving the membrane bonding of all cells in the body in order to Halt aging, electrifying the muscles to prevent atrophy, oxygenation of the brain,reducing body temperature, as well as a balanced flow of electrolytes in order to prevent dehydration as well stopping all metabolic activity so the human body does not produce any waste." explained the help station. "All hibernation technology is 100% effective with perfect redundancies to ensure the life and safety of the occupant of a hibernation pod."

"But what about hibernation pod malfunctions? What would happen to the occupant?" asked Aurora not satisfied with the answer.

"Hibernation pods are Fail-Safe. They cannot malfunction." said the help station.

"But my hibernation pod did malfunction. What am I supposed to do?" said Aurora frustrated.

"Hibernation pods are Fail-Safe. They cannot malfunction."

Aurora I was starting to get really irritated at this.

"What is a passenger supposed to do if they wake up before the crew?" asked Aurora, now not believing she'll get a satisfactory answer.

"Passengers do not wake up until 4 months before they arrive at their destination. The crew wakes up five months before the ship arrives at their destination."

"But what if a passenger wakes up before the crew? What do they do then?"

"Passengers do not wake up until 1 month after the crew." said help station again.

"HYPOTHETICALLY...!" yelled Aurora in indignation. "What's a passenger supposed to do if they do wake up early, what if hibernation pod malfunctions?"

"No hibernation pod has malfunctioned in thousands of interstellar flights."

"Well...I'm awake." she said in exasperation.

"I see that you have been enjoying the helpful advice of the ship's computer." said Jim half sarcastically as he walked up behind her.

"Yeah." she said exasperated. "This help station is the stupidest thing."

"Want to get something to eat?" asked Jim.

"Yes." said Aurora. "I'm starving."

"Happy to help." said the help station as they walked away.

But then the Hologram around the help station fluctuated and then shut off briefly.

Unbeknownst to Jim and Aurora down in the reactor room the fire that was being fueled by the plasma energy ring had grown significantly. The temperature within the reactor room was hundreds of degrees warmer than it was supposed to be. Still tolerable levels, but none-the-less the increased temperature cause power fluctuations throughout the ship. With the power fluctuations processors burnt out.

Up on the bridge in the command ring at the diagnostic station, there were dozens of giant red holographic squares each displaying a failed system that the Redundant systems were not able to fix. The most recent one that came up was a malfunction in the Help Station on the Grand Concourse. The word 'repairing' flashed on the giant red square where a few moments later the giant red square turned green and then disappeared as the Redundant systems had successfully covered for that failed system.

* * *

Aurora had gone to the bathroom on their way to the communal dining room, while Jim went on ahead and ordered his traditional gruel.

A few minutes later Aurora caught up. Jim's back was to her while he listened to the beeping sounds of the scanning of her ID band. And then the words, "Gold Class breakfast." coming from the computer.

He looked at her longing for that kind of a breakfast here in the dining room but if he wanted it he would have to go to one of the restaurants to purchase it at full price.

She sat across from him at the table that he was at. Her tray was filled with not a lot of any one thing, but a little of everything, which added up to a large portion meals.

Eggs, both fried and scrambled, hash browns, both shredded and cubed, ham, bacon, breakfast sausage links, one small pancake, one small waffle, and several different desserts though only one bite to each.

She looked at his bowl of plain oatmeal with no sugar on it.

"You're a man of simple tastes." said Aurora in observation with a laugh in her voice.

"I'm not a gold class passenger. This is all that the food dispenser will give me."

All the sudden she looked appalled.

"Are you serious? For an entire year? What can I get you?" she said as she stood up and walked over to the food dispenser.

"No Aurora," said Jim, "that's okay, it's unnecessary."

"I insist." she said.

"Okay." he said in quick acceptance and not arguing.

"Gold Class breakfast." said the food dispenser and a second later she brought over a second tray identical to the one that she had.

He pushed his oatmeal away and started to devour his food with a groan of pleasure.

"So, I was thinking." said Aurora. "Maybe there's another way to go back to sleep."

"I know what you're doing." said Jim in a friendly tone of voice of understanding. "You're looking at this with a fresh perspective, unlike me. Just the thing is a fresh perspective is not going to find a solution. You can only go into hibernation under medical supervision with specialized procedure and treatment."

"Well what about the Infirmary?" asked Aurora.

"I checked there. It's just a medication dispenser and an autodoc."

"Or maybe the autodoc can put us into hibernation."

"From what I've checked from it, it can't."

"Well what about the hibernation pods. Maybe there's an extra hibernation pod in the cargo hold."

"I checked there too. It's mostly just farming supplies and trade goods."

"Well perhaps we could build another one?"

"It's not additional hibernation pods that we need. Both our hibernation pods are perfectly fine. I checked yours out this morning. Unless there's a team of doctors perform the procedure on us to put us into hibernation there is nothing that we can do."

"Come on Jim." Said Aurora this time with impatience in her voice. "It's like you're not even trying."

He then lifted his arms to behold the large dining hall.

"Umm, duh, hello." as though to express the obviousness of the hopelessness of the situation. "Look around, look at me right here right now; I have tried. For over a year. I tried everything."

Aurora slumped in her chair in disbelief, unwilling to accept the situation.

"Well, as you said I'm here with a fresh perspective. So I'm not quite ready to give up yet."

For the rest of breakfast they sat in companionable silence.

Once Jim's plate was empty he put it back into the food dispenser.

"Thanks a Lot." he said gratefully with a smile. "I appreciated it. Is there anything that I can do for you?"

"I'll let you know."

* * *

Within the computer core that was still damaged from the meteorite Strike, some live circuits sparked triggering power surges throughout the ship which burned out some additional processors.

Up on the bridge at the primary diagnostic hologram console there was a red square that appeared as a hologram displaying 'janitorial robot control'.

* * *

Jim was sitting in the hot tub near the swimming pool at the time when he saw one of the janitorial robots appear from the hallway and then zigzaged back-and-forth apparently not able to know exactly what it was doing or where it was going.

The robot continued to act up for about a minute until Jim got out of the hot water and walked over to it and picked it up. He flipped it over onto its back where he then hit it's cut off switch.

In the one year since he had woken up this was the eighth robot that had malfunctioned. He had taken them apart to determine what was wrong.

The robots were supposed to have a wireless connection to the ship's computer, and the ship's computer was supposed to control them. The robots that he had found that had malfunctioned apparently had lost their connection to the ship's computers so apparently they were just mindless machines that wandered aimlessly with no directive or primary function. He was curious to the anomaly, but apparently had no idea what was causing it. He had begun working on them to see if he could fix them. They were in relatively good condition, but without a connection to the ship's computer they were little better than remote control cars.

* * *

 **Day 396**

It had been 9 days since Aurora had woken up.

She sat in her cabin with a mug of extra strong coffee. Her holographic notepad was at her side.

"Journal Entry...Aurora Lane," said Aurora as she voice typed to her holographic notepad, "I boarded the Avalon with a purpose, a destination. But it seems that all of that is pointless now. I have not completely given up hope, no. But it seems that there's no way out of my situation. I have attempted to break into the bridge and the crew hibernation rooms. I cannot wake the crew. I cannot get to the central computer. I searched the infirmary and there's no way to go back into hibernation. I've consulted the database on countless different to Scientific matters. Certain information is restricted and can't give it to me, and theoretical data isn't helping. There is one other person on board, a mechanic by the name of Jim Preston. He claims his hibernation pod malfunctioned as well. He seems to have given up hope, though he's tried everything that I've tried for a lot longer and hasn't gotten anywhere, and he's the one with the technical skills of the two of us. His hibernation pod malfunctioned over a year ago. I don't know what to do...end entry."

She put her holographic notepad away, and then put on her favorite white bathing suit.

She walked from her cabin to the swimming pool. It was a large pool and it was deep complete with diving boards.

She set her robe aside and then dived into the slightly chlorinated lukewarm water headfirst. She did the freestyle stroke for several laps enjoying the weightlessness of the ebb of deep water as well as the softness and feel of the lukewarm water around her body. She tried to think. She knew that her life was in ruins if she couldn't go back to sleep. For the past nine days it was not uncommon for her to break into tears occasionally. But she still hoped to find a solution before long.

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	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 **Author's note: Sorry for the delay in the update. For health reasons I was unable to focus on my writing.  
**

 **Day 398**

Aurora and Jim were in the giant communal dining room. She gave him a Gold Class breakfast every morning. They exchanged a few words, but they were relatively quiet to each other. She liked him, he seemed nice. And he was relatively good looking. She tried to imagine just such a situation. She thought of herself as an attractive woman though she never consider herself vain or shallow, she wondered why Jim wasn't throwing himself at her. Though at the same time he would be sympathizing with her and he's probably just trying to be a gentleman.

A guy who's been what he's been through for a year would no doubt want some, 'action' from a woman like her. But at the same time she herself wasn't going to throw herself at him, as she didn't consider herself a slut or anything. Plus, she hardly knew him.

"You going back to the command ring with the tools?" asked Jim. "I wouldn't judge you or blame you if you did."

Aurora knew that he had already tried all of this for much longer than she had but at the same time she still had to try just a little while longer, but for today she's going to try to take a load off of her mind. She may die of old age on this ship, but she was still on a luxury liner, she'll take full advantage of the space.

"Actually I'm going to go for a jog." said Aurora. "Several twisting and turning miles of empty hallways through this colossal ship; I like it."

"Sounds refreshing for the mind." said Jim, wondering why he hadn't tried it before himself.

The ship of course had fitness centers, but perhaps a long stretch of running might be more stimulating than the treadmill.

He finished his food, and put his tray away.

"You enjoy your run." said Jim. "I'll see you later."

"What are you going to do?" asked Aurora.

"I'm going to fix up some malfunctioning robots." said Jim.

"What's going on with the robots?"

"Apparently every now and then one of them just stops working properly."

He then walked off while Aurora finished her food and then went back to her cabin. She changed into a comfortable athletic outfit and then started her slow jog up and down the corridors of the ship.

She thought some more about her situation. Wondering if perhaps they'll figure something out and maybe find a way to go back into hibernation. She then realized that Jim hadn't completely given up, just slowed down his efforts because his fresh perspective had long since run out. Also she wondered about him in greater detail. Why did his hibernation pod malfunction? Why was he here? And if it was so unlikely or completely impossible that so much as a single hibernation pod would malfunction how was it that two have malfunctioned within a short time apart from each other? One year being a short time.

It did not occur to her that her pod might have been sabotaged by him. She didn't really truly think that anyone was capable of that, though she'd never given it much thought. She had given him the benefit of the doubt and believed and considered only the story that was given to her that her pod had malfunctioned.

But she wanted to know more about Jim. She wanted to get back to her job that she was hoping to do when she had woken up. Her job of being a journalist. She was going to interview the passengers on the ship during the four-month period of skill building classes and Recreation before they land. And then she was going to interview the colonists on the surface of the planet.

Once she had worked up a sweat and she felt her muscles burning, she went back to her cabin where she then took a shower and then changed into semi formal casual clothing.

She picked up her voice recorder and her voice typing holographic Notepad.

"Locate Jim Preston." she commanded the computer.

"Jim Preston is in the forward section of the third level dining room on the Habitation Module." said the computer.

* * *

Jim was at one of the hundreds of empty tables in the colossal communal dining room. He had a half dismantled janitorial robot in front of him as well as a pile of tools.

He looked up when he sensed someone's presence within close proximity to him. He saw Aurora standing over him with a serious face.

Aurora activated her audio recorder and her voice typing function on her holographic notepad.

"Why did you do it?" she asked, question generalized.

'Oh no!' thought Jim in a panic while still remaining composed. 'Busted!...No, wait? Maybe it's not what you think. Just play dumb.'

"Do what?" he asked for clarification of her question.

"Immigrate." said Aurora. "Leave Earth?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I'm interviewing you." said Aurora, acting formal, and professional. "I'm a journalist."

She then sat down at the table across from him.

"What?" said Jim in disbelief and confusion.

"You're the first hibernation failure in the history of space travel." said Aurora. "That makes you a story."

"Who are you going to tell?"

"Posterity." said Aurora. "So, why did you leave. It's an awfully big decision to make. You go to sleep and when you wake up on another world, in another century, every person you've ever known is dead."

"Well, I could ask you the same thing?" said Jim.

"But it's my interview." said Aurora firmly.

"I guess that I just wanted a fresh start."

"That's Homestead company advertising." she said in objective perspective.

Jim set down his screwdriver and attempted to correct this thought for a minute.

"I left Earth because I don't really have anyone left to really leave behind. Just a few friends that I don't see that often, and a few distant cousins. I'm an only child, no girlfriend, both of my parents passed away a few years ago, before I was put in hibernation of course." Jim explained. "I always loved building machines or fixing broken machines. Just the thing is there's not a whole lot of demand for people like me on Earth. I could have gotten a job in a Tech-Factory but it just didn't seem enough for me. On the colony worlds they don't have all of the things that they have on Earth. On Earth when something breaks you don't fix it you just have it replaced. On the colony worlds if something breaks it may still be perfectly good you just need a competent mechanic to fix whatever is wrong with it and then it's perfectly good again. On the colony worlds my profession is in high demand. There are problems that they need for me. On the colony worlds I could build myself a house and live in it. There be a new problem for me to fix mechanical engineerwise every single day. On Earth I was lucky if I hardly ever got anything to fix. On the colony worlds...lots of space...open country...room to grow."

"Now you're back to slogans."

"Can't any of the homestead company slogans be true?"

Though this was supposed to be an interview to learn about him, she felt an extreme desire to try to convince him of her way of thinking.

"Follow me Jim." said Aurora. "I want to show you my perspective on things."

They then went to the hibernation bay where all the pods were.

"Look around Jim. Tell me, what do you see when you look at the faces of the people that are in suspended animation in this room?"

He looked around and paused to collect his thoughts.

"I see people with hopes and dreams. I see people who would not buy a ticket on this ship unless they had hopes and dreams strong enough in order for them to make the leap of faith that it takes to be here at all. While Earth is overpopulated and overpriced it's still a place to be. It's still everyone's home. I speak from personal experience that though I will miss Earth, yes, I'm also excited about building myself a house and having broken machines to fix everyday."

She then directed Jim's attention to a circle of six pods, four of which appeared to be a family of two parents and two children.

"What about them? It seems more like parents are uprooting the kids from the only home that they knew to a new place."

"Sometimes the move is easier when they're younger. And besides until a child is 18 they follow their parents."

"There is also the fact that the Homestead Company gains a constant stream of income from 20% of every person on the colony worlds."

"It's still a less crowded and less expensive lifestyle than on Earth." said Jim.

Aurora paused to collect her thoughts for a moment, then bent the subject a little.

"Do you know how much money the Homestead Company made on it's first planet? Eight quadrillion dollars! That's eight million billions! Did you pay full price for your ticket?"

"No. It was the Homestead Company's idea for me too be here. I'm in a desirable trade for the colony worlds."

"So, the homestead company filled your head with dreams, discounted your ticket, and then send you off to another world where they then get 20% of everything you make for the rest of your life."

"So when you look around this room you see 5000 suckers?"

"I see zeros on the Homestead Company's bottom line."

"I see 5000 people changing their lives." said Jim. "You judge these people before you even know them just for making this trip."

"Hey, I'm a writer, "said Aurora, "I know a lot about human psychology. I know people."

Jim then decided to challenge her on that.

"Okay." he said, turning and looking around.

He went to a random pod and looked at the little display screen. He observed the occupant's profession and covered it with his hand.

"Doctor, banker, or gardener?"

Aurora looked at the man who was in the hibernation pod. He was a middle-aged man. Perhaps a few years older. His skin was wrinkled and he had gray hair but he was thin with what appeared to be good health for his age. While his eyes were closed in his suspended animation he seemed to have a stern confident demeanor.

"Banker." said Aurora.

Jim then removed his hand from the display panel and revealed,

'Gardner.'

Aurora was disappointed that she guessed wrong.

He then walked over to another pod, observed a young woman and again held his hand over the display panel after he looked at it.

"Donna, Madison, or Lola?"

Aurora looked at the woman, the woman seemed to have a friendly face but was very strongly red-headed in her hair.

"Donna just isn't right for that hair." said Aurora judgmentally. "Lola."

He removed his hand for the display panel,

'Madison.'

"Shit!" said Aurora in even more disappointment that she had not guessed correctly.

He walked over to a third pod where he then held his hand over the display panel after he looked.

"Chef, accountant, or midwife?"

She didn't even bother attempting to guess on that one as that last one, Midwife was not something that a person would just throw in there as a multiple choice question unless it was the correct answer.

"Okay, there's no way that you made that last one up, she has to be a midwife."

"She's a midwife." confirmed Jim with a smile. "I didn't even know that they still had midwives."

Aurora looked at her and really took a moment to decide on this woman, not judging her for just her looks.

"I like her." Aurora decided. "I think she and I would be friends."

They stood there in silence for a little while sort of contemplating the interview and the subjects that they talked about. Neither one of them really breaking the ice after that.

"Aurora, I'm going to take you out for a drink." said Jim.

"When?" she asked out of curiosity.

"Right now." said Jim.

"Now?" she said in surprise. "But it's not even lunchtime yet."

"I found that in my last year here that it doesn't really matter what time of day you do anything when you have unlimited freedom. At least as much Freedom as the ship gives you when you're all alone on it."

* * *

"Grand Concourse." said the computer as they exited the elevator.

He walked her across the super large luxury shopping mall that was right on the ship until they got to the pub.

Arthur had been on low power mode until they came within 20 yards of the pub.

"Aurora, you are about to meet the artificial intelligence android bartender, Arthur." said Jim. "He's a feeble imitation of a real human being, but around here he's the next closest thing. Hello, Arthur."

"Hello Jim." said Arthur with a smile. "And who is this lovely lady?"

"Aurora." said Aurora stating her name.

"Aurora." responded Arthur with a smile, taking her hand in respect. "A pleasure."

"I have a whiskey, neat." said Jim.

"Martini, please." said Aurora.

Arthur pored the drinks.

Jim raised his glass.

"To living large on a large ship." Jim toasted.

"I'll drink to that." said Aurora.

 **Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 **Author's note: Sorry for the delay in the update. Writing has been hard for me lately.  
**

 **Day 398**

Aurora and Jim were in the pub.

They exchanged a few more words with Arthur and then went off.

"Shall we get some lunch now?" asked Jim.

"Where shall we go?" asked Aurora.

"What kind of food are you in the mood for?" asked Jim.

"I like all different kinds." said Aurora. "Chinese, Mexican, Thai food, but for right now I'm in the mood for just traditional American food."

"Follow me." said Jim.

* * *

Jim then led Aurora to a fancy-looking restaurant that apparently had just regular American food on the menu.

A robot on wheels with standard flexible mechanical arms then approach them.

"Good day passengers." said the robot in a dull mechanical voice. "May I take your order, or would you like drinks to start?"

"I'll have a ginger ale." said Jim.

"I'll have a club soda." said Aurora.

The robot waiter than wheeled away and then Jim and Aurora looked at the menu.

* * *

Their food has arrived. And they started eating.

Aurora had again opened up her holographic notepad and activated the voice typing function.

"So, Jim." said Aurora. "What other plans did you have for Homestead 2 when you arrived there?"

Jim paused to think for a moment.

"I like to think that I am a nature guy. I love to go for walks in the woods. I've always been a fan of the bike trails."

"A planet that's still being explored." said Aurora. "Granted after it was seeded with plant life after the planet was terraformed."

"But none the less," said Jim, "the human race created a world. But yet there are still millions of square miles of uncharted land on the continents of Homestead 2; lots of places to explore."

"I'm a big fan of nature too." said Aurora. "But at the same time I don't intend to really stay away from Earth forever. As I have actually purchased a round trip ticket."

"A round trip ticket?" said Jim in disbelief.

"Yep." said Aurora. "That's my plan. I was going to fly to Homestead 2, live there for one year, and then come straight back to Earth."

"I don't get it." said Jim with confusion. "I left Earth for a new life, but you will end up right back where you started?"

"No, I end up in the future." clarified Aurora. "250 years in the future. I will have a story that no one else can write."

"What story?" asked Jim.

"The ultimate story of the ultimate adventure. Mankind's flight to the Stars; it will be the ultimate story that no one else can write."

"But in that new era you won't know any of the people who will be reading it." said Jim.

"But they will be reading it." insisted Aurora adamantly.

She then paused with a face of disappointment. "Or at least they would have been. There's no point in me writing the book now. I won't be alive to witness the appropriate events in order to write the book. I don't know if I will ever write again."

She sighed, "Jim, I don't know what to do anymore? ...We can't get back into hibernation, and we cant break into the secure areas...I'm all out of ideas."

And then looked around the large room in wonder and curiosity.

"What is there to do around here?" asked Aurora.

"Well," said Jim. "We are on a luxury liner. The whole ship is about Recreation. Tell me Aurora, do you like to dance?"

"Occasionally I like to dance." said Aurora.

"Follow me."

* * *

Jim then took her to the Hologram dance room in the video arcade.

"It's a dance off with the computer." said Jim.

But suddenly Aurora didn't quite seem so enthusiastic about it. She enjoyed casual dancing at a party, but she was not a very competitive dancer.

"Come on Aurora." said Jim. "It will be fun. Partner mode." he commanded to the computer.

The holographic dancer then split into two and Jim then took his place in front of the male dancer.

"Stand right here." said Jim while he pointed to the spot beside him.

Aurora very tentatively walked up to the spot.

"Now, they are going to dance first, and we have to mimic the exact dance that they did."

The male dancer started to dance. Having a great deal of experience Jim mimicked the exact dance. The female dancer then did another fancy dance wear she then paused and waited for Aurora to do it. But Aurora did not respond.

Is there anything else that we could do?" said Aurora apparently not wanting to do this, but when she took too long to respond, the Hologram's artificial intelligence interpreted her lack of response as a bad duplicate of the dance that it did and then they gave her a thumbs-down telling her that she sucked.

"Hey!" said Aurora reprimanding the hologram. "I'll show you!"

Apparently the harsh criticism from the Holograms motivated her to prove them wrong.

She waited for the Hologram to dance again where she then attempted real hard to repeat the dance. The computer then gave her a score. It wasn't the highest score, but it was better than zero.

For a while they kept dancing with the Holograms, and they bumped into each other, they spun around on one foot and fell to the ground. Always resulting in laughing. Sometimes they beat the dancing Holograms, sometimes they fell short of a high score entirely.

After that they came out of the 'Dance Off' video arcade and they were laughing and sweating as well as exhausted.

"You know what Jim, that wasn't half bad." said Aurora with a smile.

"I'm glad that you enjoyed it Aurora." Said Jim.

He had enjoyed it more than he ever had as he now actually had a partner to dance with.

* * *

He took her to the Mexican restaurants where they indulge themselves in the some burritos.

Aurora went to bed with a smile after she bid him goodnight and left for her cabin.

* * *

 **Day 400**

Aurora and Jim go to the movies.

* * *

 **Day 402**

Aurora and Jim play one-on-one basketball.

Jim had had plenty of practice when playing by himself, but it seemed that Aurora had some skill with the game herself. They're about evenly matched the score usually remaining a tie or close to it.

* * *

 **Day 441**

Aurora sat in her cabin in her bathrobe with fresh clean wet hair as she sipped a cup of coffee. She activated her holographic notepad and voice typing function.

"Journal Entry, Aurora Lane." she spoke aloud and the notepad started typing.

"It has been two months since I have woken up. And though it is seeming more and more likely that there is no way back into hibernation and I'm going to die of old age before we reach Homestead 2, ...I am having fun. I am enjoying myself. The ship's recreational facilities are top notch.

"Jim Preston is good company. And I am developing a romantic attraction to him. He's good looking. But I won't initiate anything because I want it to come from him.

"But I still keep hoping for a long-term solution for my situation. I still hold out hope I'll get to Homestead 2 at least before I'm 40.

"End entry."

It was then that the lights in the room began to flicker and then went out. It was about 20 seconds later when the lights came back on.

"There is an electrical malfunction in your area." said the computer. "Attempting to reboot. Please standby. We apologize for the inconvenience."

"What in the world?!" said Aurora out loud.

On the bridge at the diagnostic console a red holographic square appeared saying, 'Utopia Suite'. The word, 'repairing', flashed for a few moments before the diagnostic turned green and then disappeared. While there were several dozen other red Diagnostics over the console that continued to flash 'repairing', but never turned green.

* * *

 **Day 442**

Jim and Aurora walked into the pub.

"Hello Arthur." said Jim. "Whiskey please, neat."

"Martini for me." said Aurora.

"Coming right up." said Arthur.

Arthur made the drinks. He served them with napkins and then as always started to polish a glass.

"It really has been fun." said Aurora. "I've been enjoying the ship's recreational facilities."

"And we from the Homestead Company always endeavor to please the customers." said Arthur with a smile.

"Are you just programed to say that?" asked Aurora.

"I will not deny it." said Arthur. "I am programmed to serve the passengers."

"So, tell me about Jim's first year?" said Aurora as she looked at Jim.

"Well," said Jim before Arthur could start, "I woke up from my hibernation pod. The holographic woman in front of me told me that we were nearing Homestead 2 and it was time for me to wake up. They checked my vitals that I was fine and directed me to my cabin. Asked me to check my luggage and gave me some pink electrolyte solution, and then I kinda went to sleep like right away. And I did not at any point realize that I was alone. I guess of course I knew that I was alone but it never really clicked in my head at the time that that would be wrong.

"So the next morning when I was awoken by the ship's alarm clock and then I got ready and went to the classroom for orientation, then I realized that I was alone.

"I ran up and down the hallways, checked the hibernation Bay and everything. When I realized that no one else was awake I realized that something was wrong. I checked the command ring, I checked the Grand Concourse, they directed me to the ship's Steward, everything, and then when I finally went to the ship's Observatory where it then told me that we would arrive at Homestead 2 in about 90 years, that's when I kind of flipped out. I went to the communication room where I sent a message to Earth but they told me that it's not going to arrive for another 19 years and earliest possible reply being 55 years from now, and then they charged my credit card $6,000.

"That was when I met Arthur." said Jim as he then looked at Arthur. "Arthur acted very casual as though there was absolutely nothing weird or unusual about a passenger being awake. At first I didn't immediately realize that he was an Android so I kind of treated him like a human, verbally, but he offered me a whiskey, I decided maybe I could use one and then I realize that he had no legs.

"I tried for months to put myself back in hibernation and break into the command ring but, there was nothing. I was stuck. It was absolutely no way out of this. By lack of imagination from the engineers and scientists that designed this ship and all its systems, they focused so hard on preventing a passenger from every waking up early in the first place that they created no protocol on what to do if one actually did wake up.

"And as I said, I tried for months and I couldn't figure anything out. That's when Arthur suggested that I enjoying myself.

"And then two months ago I randomly saw you walking around The Concourse which was totally a surprise. I immediately realized that your hibernation pod had to have malfunctioned as well."

"One hibernation malfunction would have been surprising enough, but two within a year and three weeks." said Aurora with curiosity. "That seems highly unusual."

Jim's face turn to a plain straight face of caution and attempted to remain composed.

"I'm surprised you didn't go crazy." said Aurora.

"Oh, make no mistake. I went crazy." said Jim. "I walked around the ship naked. I drank excessively. You know, I almost jettisoned myself into space out of an airlock one time. I just couldn't take it anymore but...I got over it.

"I think there was a time. Where I didn't wear pants for about a month."

"7 weeks and 4 days." clarified Arthur. "The man has no shame.

"Well you're a little lacking yourself in that area Arthur." said Aurora.

Both Aurora and Jim laughed at that one where Arthur then put on the confused face or than look down at the mechanical gears that made up his lower torso and below.

"I laugh at the man with no pants, until I realize that I have no legs." said Arthur who then started laughing himself.

Jim and Aurora then laughed even harder.

With a smile on her face from the laughter she then let out a breath.

"For a moment there I forgot that my life was in ruins." said Aurora.

"I'm sorry." said Jim.

"What for?" asked Aurora rhetorically.

"I think all this alcohol has made me a little tired. I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you both tomorrow."

Aurora then walked away.

Once Aurora was out of earshot Arthur then leaned in and whispered to Jim. "She is wonderful. Excellent choice."

Jim still feeling sorry that he had woken her up kept on a serious face of sorrow and regret.

"There has got to be something that I can do to make her life better. Sure, she and I have fun together, but that's not enough. She's a writer. She needs to write. She is trying to write for posterity. Maybe I can help out with that."

* * *

Before Jim went to bed he went to his makeshift workshop that he had set up for himself in the cargo hold. He would collect spare parts and bits of scrap metal to put together different kinds of gadgets and things as well as fix the broken robots.

He collected pieces of thin straight silver pieces of metal. He then used a welding torch and soldering iron to fit them together while shaping into them rectangular windows. He created a very tall rectangular prism form while molding it and shaping it to be just right fitting the thin Square pieces of metal together.

After a little while of hard work and mechanical art, he had created a mirror approximate scrap art model of the Chrysler Building in New York City.

In the past 2 months Jim had memorized Aurora's habits. She like to go to the viewing area to look out at the stars every morning.

* * *

 **Day 443**

Jim went to the viewing area that he knew that Aurora would go to in the morning. He placed his model Chrysler Building there along with a hot cup of coffee and a holographic notepad and then he typed a message on to it.

* * *

A short while later Aurora walked in to look out at the stars where she then notice the little set up. She saw the metal model Chrysler Building along with the cup of coffee and then the message. The message read, "Enjoy the view and write for me."

Aurora had always said for her that if she had a view of the Chrysler Building and a cup of coffee she could write all day.

How did Jim know that? Thought Aurora. Obviously he must have been reading her work.

She was flattered of course but she didn't know if he had read her work or not.

* * *

Jim had put the finishing touches on the malfunctioned robot in front of him. It was a small vacuum cleaner robot that was supposed to just pick up little bits that it could find on the floor. He had disconnected its connection to the ship's computer which had already malfunctioned on it's own, and established its connection just to his makeshift remote control that he had created. Along with a live camera feed. He fit the robot with a robotic arm in a hidden compartment along with a note and a pen. He was going to do what he wanted all along. Jim felt that it was time and that there was little point to waiting any longer. At this point, she either likes him or she doesn't, she will either answer yes to his question now or she never will ever.

Watching the live camera feed on the screen in front of him he controlled the robot to go to the observation area.

When the robot got there, Aurora at the little robot with the camera that had been mounted on top of it.

"Hello." said Aurora with a smile.

Jim then touched the button that triggered the robots robotic arm to hold out the Note.

Aurora took the note and read it. The note read, "Dinner Tonight?"

"Is he asking me on a date?" Aurora asked the robot.

Jim then had the robot shake its camera up and down in the form of an odd.

"Need a pen?" asked Jim as he then touched another button to have the robot present a pen.

She wrote a reply on the piece of paper, and then handed it back to the robot. The robotic arm then pulled the piece of paper back into the small compartment on its front. She started to sip her coffee again and turned her attention back to the window looking out at the stars.

Jim remotely steered the robot all the way back to where he was, and then he took the piece of paper and read it.

The reply was, "Love to."

"She wrote, love to." said Jim in excitement towards the robot.

A guy was always excited when a girl says yes.

* * *

Jim then went to the clothing store on the Grand Concourse. There was of course no person behind the cash register, so he just started looking through the racks and shelves of different kinds of clothes. He found himself a fancy-looking suit. He tried it on and then looked in the mirror.

"I am looking snazzy." said Jim. "Yes, Aurora is going to love this."

 **Please review!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 **Day 443**

Around 5 p.m. Jim went to Aurora's quarters and waved his ID band over the door sensor.

"You have a visitor." said the computer's voice from inside the door.

The door then opened and Jim stepped in. Down the short hallway that led into the Utopia Suite came Aurora. Her hair was done up nice. Her makeup is applied perfectly. She was wearing earrings and a backless black dress with the front going right up to her neck.

Jim stood there and looked at her with amused awe.

"Wow!" he said.

"You clean up pretty good yourself." said Aurora looking at fresh crisp suit and well groomed appearance. "You went shopping."

"I went shoplifting, actually." Jim clarified. "Shall we go to dinner?" said Jim as he directed her down the hall.

* * *

"Grand Concourse." said the voice coming out of the wall as they exit the elevator.

Before they went to dinner they decided to have a friendly drink and visit to the local bar man.

"Jim. Aurora." said Arthur as they entered. "What can I get for you?"

"Whiskey, rocks." said Jim.

"Martini for me." said Aurora.

"No problem." aid Arthur.

Arthur then got the ingredients and began mixing the martini.

"You too look lovely this evening." said Arthur in observation.

"Well thank you Arthur." said Aurora. "We're on a date."

Arthur smiled and raised his eyebrows, "Very nice."

"Took you long enough to ask." said Aurora in half mocking condemnation with a smile.

"I liked you the first day that I saw you." clarified Jim. "Make no mistake about that. I I was just trying to be a gentleman by not throwing myself at you immediately. And since you had just woken up and your life has been ruined I wanted to give you a little space."

"Space?" said Aurora in mockery at the idea. "Like I need any more of that. But thank you for asking me out." she said while taking his hand.

"You're welcome." said Jim.

"So, where shall we go?" asked Aurora after she finished her drink. "I was thinking maybe the French restaurant."

"Sounds good."

* * *

It was some time later. They had finished eating, and drinking red wine. The robot waiter took their empty dishes away.

"Well, that was delicious." said Aurora.

"It wasn't easy getting a reservation." joked Jim pretending that the restaurant was full of customers.

"They're probably going to want us to give up our table." said Aurora playing along with the joke. "We're getting a lot of dirty looks."

"Very popular tonight." said Jim referring to the restaurant.

There was a quiet pause for a few moments.

"So how is your book coming along?" asked Jim trying to sound interested in her.

"I don't really know what it is yet." said Aurora as she stared into space to ponder the idea of it. "My dad used to always write about his life. But he had stories. He sailed around Antarctica. He was a war reporter. He had lovers." she gave a seductive smile on that last one.

"And he wrote about his daughter." she said as she broke eye contact from Jim and looked away with slight embarrassment.

But Jim seemed to show interest in that.

"He wrote about you?" asked Jim.

"Yeah." said Aurora. "I grew up reading about myself in his books."

"How was that?" asked Jim.

"Not always easy." said Aurora. "A little bit more than you want to know about yourself. And then when I was 17 he had a heart attack. He was writing at his keypad. End of story." she said the last part with a face and voice of sorrowful memory.

Jim put on a sympathetic straight face.

"That was so serious." said Aurora through a smile and partly gritted teeth. "I'm sorry. We need more wine."

"I like hearing about your life." said Jim, genuinely interested.

"Thanks." said Aurora with a smile.

Their glasses were filled with a little more red wine.

They continue to sit and look at each other. Occasionally exchanging words.

Jim talked about his fascination in just the working of machinery. How the different components fit together to make a tool that could do a complicated task, that back in the caveman days would have taken many hands or have been simply been impossible to do at all. He explained that mechanical engineering was an art. A true science in every sense.

Aurora told him more about writing. Writing was very hard work. Sometimes you could get writer's block for days and weeks at a time. Sometimes you knew exactly what you wanted to write about but you just weren't sure how to write at exactly. Sometimes you would write countless rough drafts and then discard them knowing that they would never be good for reading.

* * *

Memories are forever.

They made their way into a photo booth on the Grand Concourse where several wallet-sized portraits were taken and then instantly developed.

When they looked at the pictures they look like a cute couple. A happy couple.

* * *

They went to the video arcade and played some video games together.

* * *

They went to the movie theater and watch a movie together while they snuggled up close to each other.

* * *

They went to a ballroom to enjoy some soft music and a slow waltz.

* * *

They were tired and almost ready for sleep, but Jim wanted to do one more thing before ending the evening.

Jim led her to the airlock antechamber where the spacesuits are housed.

"What are we doing here?" asked Aurora.

"Let me show you." said Jim.

The space suit then opened up like a big mechanical clamshell and allowed him to step in where at then closed up over him as was its function for easily suiting up.

"Have you done this before?" asked Aurora as she immediately realize that they were going to go on a spacewalk together.

"Several times." said Jim over exaggerating on the one time that he actually did it.

"Is it safe?" asked Aurora.

"No." said Jim. But then he chuckled and then reassured her, "Relatively safe. Hop in."

Just the problem was the suit was not meant to accommodate the shape and unusual configuration of a skirt and dress. It would get all tangled up inside the suit if not possibly be ripped apart while fitting in.

A normal shirt and trousers don't do that in the seat.

"What about my dress?" asked Aurora.

"Right?" Said Jim suddenly realizing her dilemma and that he had not thought of it beforehand.

Aurora then realized that she was just going to have to go into the suit in just her thong-panties.

She laughed at the irony and awkwardness of the situation.

"Turn around." She said to him though it was worded in just a polite exaggeration.

She then reach behind her neck to undo the tie that held the top of her dress to her neck. When Jim realize that she was taking off her dress he turned his back to be the modest gentleman.

A few moments later he saw the Black Dress slide between his legs from behind him.

A few moments later he knew that she was inside the suit.

He took her into the airlock where the inner door closed.

He slid open the safety switch and press the red button.

"Have a wonderful time." said the computer.

The outer door opened and the atmosphere inside the airlock was evacuated into space.

They stepped out into the darkness of the void between solar systems.

Strong secure robotic cables sneaked out of the wall and connected to their suits.

"Tether attached." said the voice of the computer in side their space helmets.

It was completely dark. There was just the light of the stars in horizon, and the lights of the ship of course.

They walked up the little path that was along the side of the ship. But after a short distance they stopped to just look at the Stellar Lights of the universe that were a thousand times clearer in the void between solar systems than they would ever have been on the clearest nights on Earth.

"This is so beautiful!" said Aurora in awe.

"I know." said Jim.

But then he looked at her through her space helmet. The light inside her helmet was reflecting off of her face which put it into an interesting contrast. It was not less beautiful, but she was just a different beautiful but equally good.

He then touched the button on the console on her arm which deactivated her magnetic boots and then he touched the button on his to deactivate his magnetic boots. They were still held to the surface by the centripetal force of the spinning of the ship.

"What are you doing?" asked Aurora.

"Do you trust me?" asked Jim.

She smiled and nodded.

He leapt off of the side of the ship as he pulled her with him. He trusted the tatters to be flawless, and they were. When they reached the end of their tether and the spinning of their ship made them float away the yank at the end was significantly less strength than was strictly needed in order to get the tethers to snap.

The ship now slightly in the distance and nothing around them except the void of space while an endless number of millions, no, billions of stars had there diffused light from the distance slightly illuminate them.

Aurora had never imagined such a thing. The difference is that she could share this with Jim while the first time Jim did this he had no one.

"Thank you." said Aurora with a tone of both sadness and gratitude in her voice.

* * *

After a little while Jim touched the button that would ravel them in on their tethers.

They re-entered the airlock and when the outer door closed and the airlock re-pressurized they went back into the antechamber where they removed their spacesuits. Only this time Aurora did not ask Jim to turn around. She stepped out of her space suit and gave gym a full frontal view of her body in nothing but a thong.

Clearly under no compunction now too follow some code of being a gentleman he made no attempt to look away.

She walked right up to him and then she kissed him right on the lips. Their bodies tingled at the touch their mouths against each others mouths. They did this for a while, oblivious to the fact that it was an airlock antechamber. But then again some of the weirdest couples in history had made out in the most unusual places so this didn't really matter.

Rather than have her put her dress back on he took off his suit jacket and put it over her shoulders while he then held it closed and they both walked together.

They both knew where they were going.

* * *

They went to Jim's stolen Vienna sweet.

They entered they walked across the dining room and then up the stairs to the sleeping area. At the top of the stairs Aurora pulled the suit jacket off of her shoulders and let it fall to the ground where she then assisted Jim in disrobing from his clothing. In seconds he was down to his boxers. Their lips met and they didn't hold back from inserting their tongues into each other's mouths.

They then remove their underwear so that they were completely naked. They continue to run their hands up and down each other's bodies in the human pleasure of human contact.

They fell onto the bed together not breaking lip contact and continued to feel each other's bodies with their hands and arms. Aurora wrapped her legs around Jim's hips where they then proceeded to try and make a baby. But Aurora was on an oral contraceptive for feminine hormonal balance, so no babies are going to be started.

* * *

After the natural human instinct and act of giving each other orgasms, they just lay there in the bed facing each other, basking in the aftermath of human pleasure.

Though they would still continue searching for a way to get back into hibernation, a part of them hoped that they would never need anyone but each other and the solitude of the ship ever again.

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	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

In a secure stable orbit around Earth's moon, was a 1 trillion ton asteroid that had been captured and towed by short-range but highly sophisticated spacecrafts from Earth. The asteroid was attached to a highly sophisticated manufacturing facility called an 'Orbital Shipyard'. The shipyard was approximately 100 miles long and nearly two miles wide; a huge colossal feat of engineering. The shipyard used to be a lot smaller in the beginning, but had grown gradually over hundreds of years.

Manufacturing parts and components was easy, as long as you had the raw materials to make them out of.

When the governments of the world decided that they wanted to build large Interstellar Starships weighing tens of thousands of tons, they needed a source of raw materials at the manufacturing facility.

The Orbital Shipyard took decades to build, but was well worth the effort. It had more than paid for itself hundreds of times over once its manufacturing capabilities were operating at 100% and it was at output of full production.

The large captured asteroid was essential for the manufacturing of spacecrafts within the shipyard. For it was extremely difficult to transport raw materials from Earth's surface into outer space, mostly because of the weight. Traditionally a spacecraft flying from the ground into outer space needs to be as light as possible. If a spacecraft needs to leave the Earth's surface and fly straight into outer space carrying an extremely heavy payload of just solid metal to be processed, then it is kind of counterproductive to the vessel being as light as possible.

In order to get an extremely heavy payload into outer space requires an extremely powerful booster rocket as well as an extremely large quantity of quickly expended fuel. Of course they did that in the beginning, but once they had a source of raw materials in the weightlessness of outer space, then they could freely manufacture as many ships in outer space as they wanted without the need of getting them to leave the Earth's gravity. Of course there were some materials, supplies, parts, and components that for whatever reason could not be manufactured in space and needed to be transported from Earth's surface to the ships, but those materials were a minority compared to 99% of the metal that the ships would be made out of.

Hundreds of ships traveled to the asteroid belt in the solar system and using powerful drilling clamps that could latch onto the base of the solid rock of the 1 trillion ton asteroid. They could get the thing to move with extremely powerful booster rockets, albeit, slowly. But they eventually brought it close to Earth and then using even more fuel with booster rockets trying to propel it in the opposite direction for breaking, as well as the use of ion drives, they managed to bring it into a stable geosynchronous orbit where they then began construction of the shipyard right on the asteroid.

On the shipyard they can simply extract solid rock directly from the asteroid and use an advanced metal purification process that would separate all of the individual elements within the rock into separate piles. The raw metals separated from the rock could then be processed into full working parts and components on the assembly line for the spaceships that were being built within the shipyard.

The asteroid belt within the Sol System was left over from the formation of the solar system billions of years earlier and consisted of mostly iron, and within parts of some of the asteroids were rich deposits of ore of other metals, just like the Earth's crust.

Building all of the smaller and more custom-made spacecrafts, and then capturing the asteroid, and then building the shipyard, was the hardest part that took decades and the shipyard was a lot smaller at the start. But once the shipyard was built, production of the manufacturing of spaceships of all sizes was up by more than 900%. Particularly with ships that could weigh tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of tons. Once there was no concern on landing a ship on the planet's surface or getting it off the surface back into space there was then no weight limit on the size of the spacecraft which instituted the production of larger 1 million ton cruise ships in outer space. The Starship Avalon was one of many of these ships that was manufactured in the orbital Shipyard that had a nearly endless supply of raw materials from the captured asteroid in order for it to be built. If it was not for such shipyards then the large Interstellar luxury Starships for transporting large numbers of people to the Colony worlds would not be possible.

* * *

May 7, 2411

Within one of the large colossal sized One-Mile-Square chambers within the shipyard was the newly constructed half-built skeleton of a magnificent ship, or at least the plan was that it would be a magnificent ship when it was completed. Over 1000 robotic arms and cranes from the ceiling, and floor, and walls brought newly manufactured components that just had been created from the processed raw materials from the forgers of molten metal that had been mined, processed, and purified out of the attached asteroid, and then attached the components into the right places of the half-built skeleton to complete the skeleton. Once the skeleton of the ship was fully completed then the walls of the Interior rooms were assembled. And so on and so forth. This would go on for another five years until the ship would be complete and then it would be inspected and re-inspected by a team of health and safety inspectors that would be insanely strict and never satisfied, nitpicking over every tiny little thing as they looked over every nook and cranny of the ship with their clipboards. Until finally when the ship was deemed 100% safe and all of its systems 100% perfect it would be christened 'The Starship Avalon', and then begin its maiden voyage of delivering 5000 people on a 9 and 1/2 year one way trip to the neighboring solar system of Proxima Centauri, where the habitable world of 'Neo Eden 3', had been terraformed and colonized decades earlier.

* * *

 **Day 459**

For the past two weeks Jim and Aurora were overly sexually flamboyant with each other. They could barely keep their hands off of each other. With no societal or community obligation to go to work or school or any other such function for the maintenance of their livelihood, they barely got out of bed. When they did they sometimes didn't even get dressed. They walked naked with each other through either the passengers dining hall or the Grand Concourse. They made love wherever they wanted to at any time. For the first little while they were insatiable with each other but eventually the novelty wore off and they then settled back into a normal routine only this time they were lovers, in love.

They did everything that they did before only rather than just two friends keeping each other company, they went to the movies and danced and played video games as boyfriend and girlfriend.

Aurora had new inspiration for writing.

Jim indulged in some projects out of any components and raw materials that he used to find or make.

They went jogging with each other around the ship. Exercise was always more fun when you had someone to do it with. And Jim had Aurora practice punching the punching bag. Teaching her how to position her feet and make her body weight make her body steady and rigid like a rock while throwing every pound ounce of her body weight into every punch.

And they still enjoyed time apart. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Jim worked on some broken robots and other machines while Aurora went swimming in the ship's pool. But in spite of their needed solitary time, they always came home to each other again at the end of the day more in love than when they had parted at the beginning of the day. Aurora had moved into Jim's stolen Vienna suite.

Jim doubled and redoubled his efforts to get the two of them back into hibernation. He scoured the cargo hold hoping to find something that might help them. He told Aurora this every morning when he left at the end of the day to go to the cargo hold and look through the spare parts. He didn't know what he was looking for or even if it existed, but he merely hoped that he might find something and maybe know that it was what he was looking for when he finds it.

* * *

"Log entry, Aurora Lane," said Aurora as she sat at the the bar in the pub, drinking a glass of water. She had a smile on her face from just being happy all the time. "What can I say today?...there are no words...but yet there's so much to say...I think that this is why writers have writer's block when they're happy. While some have difficulty writing when they're sad. It's a paradox. Let's start with just saying it the way it is. End entry."

She ended her short log entry and then switched to another file, her book. Only the first little bit was written and she was hoping to one day finish it.

She scrolled through the book and stopped at the end with the most recent unwritten line and then hit the voice typing function.

"So," said Aurora out loud to the notepad. "I'm seeing someone. You will never guess who. We are the last two people in the world who would ever get together. But here we are. The last two people in the world."

"What was that?" said Arthur as he had been paying attention to polishing a glass a moment earlier and had only just heard her talking thinking that she was talking to him.

"I'm writing Arthur. Hush." said Aurora.

Her voice typing function on her notepad actually recorded that last line and she had to erase it.

"Jim and I live in accidental happiness. Like castaways making their home on strange Shores."

She wrote about her time on the ship with Jim. She wrote it like poetry while at the same time making it practical information for posterity.

"It's funny. We all have dreams.

"We plan our futures like we're the captains of our fates. But unfortunately we are not granted the right and privilege in the universe of truly deciding what happens to us.

"With hard effort and choices we might be able to partially direct their own steps. But we are passengers.

"We go where the fate takes us, whether it's malfunctioning hibernation pods, or the conscious choice to go on the ship to begin with.

"This isn't the life we planned. But it's ours. And for the first time in my life, I don't feel alone.

"We weren't supposed to find each other. But we did. Even though I can't get back into hibernation in order to be able to get Homestead 2, it makes me feel like my life isn't over. It's just beginning."

It was then that Jim came into the Pub.

"Hey Arthur." Jim greeted the robot bartender.

"Good day to you Jim." said Arthur with a smile. "What can I get for you."

"I'll have a beer, please."

"Coming right up." said Arthur, as he then reached for a pub glass under the bar and then held it under the beer tap as he pulled back the lever.

Jim then wrapped his arms around Aurora and kissed her. And Aurora made no attempt to resist.

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	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Day 671

"Passengers." said the computer. "If you would like to proceed to a viewing area. The Avalon is about to slingshot around the star Arcturus."

Both Aurora and Jim sprinted to an observation area that looked out the side of the ship. And they saw. The Avalon was less than several million miles from the corona of a red giant.

A red giant is a star that was once a yellow dwarf but has been around for so long it has consumed all of its hydrogen, so it starts to burn the heavier elements. This causes the star to get bigger while having a significantly cooler surface area, growing from a yellow dwarf into a red giant. The color of a star is dependent on it temperature. If a star is yellow, it means that it has a surface temperature of about 6,000 degrees Kelvin, or 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Because this star appeared red, that indicated that its surface temperature was only about 3,700 degrees Kelvin, or 6,000 Fahrenheit. Despite its exponential size.

The ship's Shield, as well as the ship's hull protected the interior from any heat and radiation.

The massive ball space fire was swirling with solar flares and other surface eruptions of solar matter.

It was beautiful but frightening at the same time, imagining the power that is within core of the stellar phenomenon that was so common within the universe as a star.

"Wow!" said Aurora with awe as she held onto Jim. "A Red Giant!"

"And the universe's gift to you." said Jim as he looked into her eyes. "Happy birthday."

Aurora tried to think about that. She thought that it was a little soon for her birthday. But then she realized the date. It was the date of her birthday, but Jim had not taken into account the exact number of years months and days that she had spent in hibernation. But it didn't matter. It was the date of her birthday so she decided to go with it.

* * *

They went to one of the restaurants after dressing up. Jim and the waiter robots singing her happy birthday as well as presenting her with a white cake with white icing.

She and Jim ate the cake together. It was delicious.

* * *

After that magnificent desert they decided to go to the pub.

It was Jim's idea for he had a special plan for her still.

Jim and Aurora had been alone together for 10 months. And dating for a little over 8. Their time together had been perfect. They didn't have a care in the world. They still cared about getting back into hibernation which Jim had still continued to look for.

They made love every night. And sometimes several times a day. Being alone on big ship full of luxuries they can do whatever they wanted, they didn't have to work, they didn't have to go to work when they woke up in the morning, they didn't have to worry about holding a job, they didn't have to pay rent. All the essentials of living plus a thousand times more were provided for them by the ship. And they had each other to satisfy the human physical need for physical contact, as well as companionship to share each other's loneliness.

Aurora continued to write. She found inspiration in their happiness.

Unfortunately, as they sometimes say, all good things must come to an end. While one thing leads to another, and they warn you that sometimes 'secrets always catch up with you'. That a relationship should be based around honesty. The secret might have been kept permanently if it wasn't for a little chain of events that happened right there in the pub. Jim had asked Arthur not to tell Aurora that he woke her up and that she thinks it was an accident and for him to tell her. Arthur agree to these terms and he had not told Aurora that Jim woke her up. He was under the impression that Aurora still didn't know that Jim had woken her up. But what overrides a logic circuit? The artificial intelligence that Arthur had was not perfect. It could have all kinds of misunderstandings when it comes to human emotion or even simple concepts of understanding.

"A birthday drink for the birthday girl." said Arthur as he gave them both a sparkling beverage in a flute glass with an olive in it.

"Aren't you going to ask for my ID Arthur?" said Aurora jokingly. "I might not be old enough to drink."

Ironic though as Arthur knew how old she was and she was of legal drinking age and had already had countless drinks served to her by him.

But his programmed personality forced him to comment on that remark under the guise of bonding and creating trust with his customers, "Oh, I would never ask a lady's age in front of a gentleman."

"Oh Arthur," said Aurora, "Jim is no gentleman. And besides there are no secrets between us."

Arthur however, under the impression that Jim was keeping the fact that he had woken her up to himself, thought perhaps things have changed in the past 10 months and that he was now under the wrong impression or no longer in the loop between them.

"Is that so?" asked Arthur to Jim.

Jim, was not quite ready to reveal the truth to Aurora if he will ever be ready, merely smiled and winked and said, "You heard the lady. I'll be right back."

Jim then walked off to the public restroom.

A human man would have interpreted the smile and wink mixed in indeterminate non-answer, as that he should just continue with their already agreed-upon Secret. But with the many personality flaws of artificial intelligence, Arthur's logic circuit determined that Aurora was now aware of the fact that Jim had woken her up and that she was not upset about it and that Arthur was free to talk about the matter in front of her.

"You know Aurora," said Arthur under the guise of conversational bonding as was his programming, "I remember this day one year ago. Jim was so looking forward to seeing you."

Aurora then put on a look of confusion at Arthur's statement.

"What?" said Aurora. "How could Jim have been looking forward to meeting me?"

Arthur then immediately realized that she was not in on the loop, in which he should not have said anything. But the cat was out of the bag now, and he went forward with answering her question.

"Oh, Jim spent months deciding whether or not to wake you up."

It took Aurora 10 long slow seconds of contemplation and pondering for Arthur's words to sink in. But when they did she was devastated in less than a second.

"Jim woke me up?" asked Aurora, hoping that Arthur would take it all back and give her a different answer.

"Oh yes." said Arthur. "It was not easy for him, not easy at all. He said that it was the most hardest decision of his life. But, I can see that it worked out just fine."

Aurora then realizing this had difficulty breathing. It was too big a shock on her emotionally. It was then that she looked in Jim's direction as he had come back from the restroom. She put on a face of disgusted horror.

"Jim," asked Aurora wanting a 100% confirmation from him and hoping that he would be honest and drop all pretenses, "did you wake me up?"

Jim realizing that Arthur had told her against they are agreed upon confidentiality, he was not mad at Arthur. Both in that moment and always, he blamed himself more than he blamed Arthur right then and there. By some fluke in Arthur's programming confidentiality, the secret had gotten out now when, For Better or For Worse, Jim should have let Aurora in on the secret himself a long time ago."

Feeling devastated with extreme nausea in his gut from being exposed to Aurora, "Yes, I woke you up."

"How!" demanded Aurora through a windpipe that was barely able to breathe because of the shock. "How could you do such a thing!"

Jim immediately knew the reason why he did it. He was desperate. He couldn't help himself. What was he to do? And it wasn't that he had done it on a whim. He had resisted doing it a thousand times for months.

"I tried not to."

It felt like a lame explanation. And it was. But what else could he say. He felt like giving her the full explanation if she be willing to listen we just be excuses.

She walked out of the pub.

"You keep away from me!" she demanded.

She went to their room, the stolen Vienna suite.

She picked up one of the decorative ornaments and threw it at the window. Of course the window was made of an extremely durable transparent polymer that would not break so easily.

She screamed at the top of her lungs out of anger more than fear, and then she broke down and just cried. Cried like a baby who wasn't allowed to have a cookie.

She then realized that it was no accident that she had woken up. It was deliberate. It could have been avoided if Jim simply hadn't done it.

By her point of view his choice of waking her up was selfish and now she was the one paying for it.

She didn't want to see him again.

But what was she supposed to do. She was trapped in a gilded cage with her murderer.

* * *

Aurora had moved back into her own suite. She quickly packed up her clothes and left before Jim could get back. She need not have bothered going too fast. Jim was too ashamed to face her right away.

He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the piece of jewelry within. Jim had felt it was the perfect time to propose marriage. In the cargo hold he found spools of wire made out of valuable metals. He then fabricated a creative makeshift wedding band out of gold and silver.

He went back to his tiny cabin. He slept it off for the night.

* * *

Day 672

"Log entry, Aurora Lane,

"I don't know what to do or say anymore! Jim Preston admitted to waking me up from hibernation. I don't know how he did it or what he did exactly. Obviously there was some way to sabotage hibernation pods. But now that I think about it, what are the odds? 1 hibernation pod by accident is one thing, but two? He admitted after I woke up that he had been alone for a year. He somewhat acted surprised when he first saw me there on the Grand Concourse, but now that I think about it his demeanor was just a little too casual. His look of surprise was just a little too much like a poor actor. And after being alone for an entire year, desperate for someone to share his loneliness? Of course he woke me up! How could I be so stupid!?

"He as good as killed me. I'm not dead yet, but I'm as good as dead. I am now trapped inside of a gilded cage with the man who had might as well have injected me with a contaminated sample of diseased blood that would kill me slowly…"

She then fell asleep crying without finishing her journal entry.

* * *

Day 673

Aurora went to the communal passengers dining hall. She went to the food dispenser. She scanned her ID band and registered her as a gold class passenger. A selection was given to her and she hit the first button.

A moment later at tray was presented to her full of food.

"Gold Class breakfast." said the computer.

She took her tray to one of the tables and sat down. But to get food was just routine. She didn't realize that she wasn't that hungry. She thought about her predicament. She was going to die of old age on this ship. No different than any other day, except for the fact that she was all alone, with a man she hated.

She hated Jim Preston because he's the one who put her in the situation to begin with. And to think that she actually fell in love with him. Of course that was before she knew the truth. And not to mention the countless times that she had sex with him. Was that not tantamount to rape? Granted he never forced himself on her, but he might as well have because he woke her up and then eventually seduced her, which would completely nullify any consent that she thought she had agreed to at the time.

But at the same time she was conflicted. What was she to do now?

"Can I talk to you?" said Jim's voice from behind her.

She was disgusted that he had walked up behind her so casually like that. Without looking at him she got up and walked away.

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	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Food synthesizers.

Invented by Nobel prize-winning engineer doctor Victor Blues, in the year 2091. He had been working with different kinds of gene-altering Technologies. By using a form of lasers and supercomputer, he could manipulate the structure of a molecule.

He had been attempting to create a form of transmutation technology. With transmutation they would be able to turn pretty much any substance into another kind of substance. He worked on the technology all his life. But eventually he came up with a slightly lesser version. He found a way to take sufficient raw materials such as iron, carbon, nitrogen, and smaller quantities of a few other metals to create extremely fast within a short time any form of biological material. While most food is already dead from whatever plant or animal that it used to be, he could create the exact same thing only rather than dead it was simply never living to begin with. But would metabolize within the stomach acid the exact same way real food would, it would be just as nutritious, and could be made to look or taste like any food. Though using already existing biological matter was far easier. Take some plants stuff it into a blender and then turn the biological mush into whatever you want. As well as pretty much any kind of compost, or more gross and disgusting but just as good, fecal matter.

It revolutionized the recycling of leftover food, or the creating of new food. It changed the world. Though in the beginning they were extremely large and expensive machines. But as the decades and centuries past they gradually came up with smaller versions that would be less expensive and available to almost everyone.

* * *

Day 683

It had been 11 days since the truth had come out. Aurora was still in a state of despair. She wanted to contemplate suicide. But at the same time a part of her still wanted to live.

Jim had made repeated attempts to approach her and get her to talk.

'What was there to talk about?' Aurora thought. She didn't want to listen. She didn't want to hear. She didn't want to hear his excuses. He wanted to somehow justify what he did to her.

* * *

She was consumed with so much anger. She wanted Jim to suffer. She wanted him to hurt. She wanted a sense of satisfaction. She wanted to kill him in retaliation for killing her.

She had entered his room. She had climbed on top of his bed near him where Jim then woke up and saw her there and then she proceeded to hit him. Punching him again and again. Jim did not retaliate, he merely raised his arms to fend off her blows. But then she fell off of the bed and noticed the large crowbar that he had used to break into the Vienna suite the first time. She held it up high ready to smash down on top of his head. Jim spread his arms aside allowing her to do it.

Jim himself thought that he deserved it. And he didn't blame her for acting this way. A part of him thought it would be a blessed relief if he died at her hand. After what he did to her she deserved her revenge.

But Aurora hesitated a little too long. Of course she wanted the satisfaction of him being hurt after what he did to her, but the same time for logic and reason kicked in, if he died then she would be in the same position that he was. She would be alone. With no possibility of companionship ever unless one day she was going to wake someone up herself.

In frustration in several ways she threw the Crowbar down on the ground and stormed out of the room without a word.

* * *

Now that she had calmed down, she tried to get back into a normal routine. She went swimming. She went jogging. Though Jim still made attempts to talk to her. She in turn did her best to avoid him.

* * *

Day 689

Jim then decided to just tell her straight out without actually being face to face with her.

Jim went to the security room. He activated the ship's audio broadcast system. And he broadcast himself all over the ship.

Aurora was jogging around the Grand Concourse. The exercise seems to help. It allowed her to vent her energy. Plus exercise gives you endorphins. And endorphins trigger happiness and anti-depression.

"Aurora." Aurora heard over the audio broadcast system. "I know that you won't listen to me or talk to me, so, don't talk. You don't have to even listen. Just hear, that'll be enough for me. I'm sorry for waking you up. I didn't mean to. I didn't want to. It wasn't an accident, no, but... I was just lonely for so long."

Aurora already knew this. But she didn't think of that, she just thought about how she could still be asleep if it wasn't for him.

"There was no way for me to put myself back into hibernation. There was no solution to the problem. The only thing that I could do was commit suicide. And I was going to. But one day I was strolling through the Hibernation Bay and I saw you, I was interested. Not just on your physical Beauty, but I wanted to get to know you. I looked up your profile. I read all of your work that was in the database. And I fell in love. I fell in love with your mind. And then suddenly things didn't seem so bad anymore. You saved my life."

Aurora was appalled. He saw her in the hibernation Bay one day, and that saved his life? If that was so he had a funny way of showing it!

"But it was only a temporary relief. The loneliness and depression kept building and building and at my lowest point, I took the selfish route. And I wish that I could take it back. But I can't. And I'm sorry."

Jim was going to go on, and explain himself even further, but he didn't have the chance because Aurora exploded in the first words that she had spoken to him since storming out of the pub on her birthday.

"I DON'T CARE!" screamed Aurora at the top of her lungs towards one of the security cameras. "I DON'T CARE WHY YOU WOKE ME UP! I DON'T CARE HOW MISERABLE YOU WERE THAT MADE YOU DO IT! YOU TOOK MY LIFE!"

Jim then felt that he had said enough. And that he should leave her alone. He turned off the audio system and walked off.

* * *

Day 699

Letting out her feelings like that had gotten a lot of things off of her mind. She felt a little bit more relaxed. She had simply had some things on her mind to say about the matter but she spent so much time avoiding Jim that she hadn't been able to vent her feelings, other than attacking him in the middle of the night.

After that it seemed like they both tried to avoid each other. Which suited Aurora just fine. Though Jim wished that she would forgive him, no not forgive him, but just understand what he'd done and not be mad at him anymore. He was a decent enough guy about the matter that he knew he needed to be punished for his crime, but he just wondered if there would be a better and easier way about it.

The only other time when they ran into each other was that apparently they shared the same Pub. With a ship that big you think that there would be more than one.

Sometimes Jim would walk into the pub while Aurora was sitting at the bar with a drink. He would then tentatively go to the far side of the bar where then Aurora would leave. Or, he would just turn around and go back out. And sometimes it was the other way around.

* * *

Shortly after that she confronted Jim in the middle of the Grand Concourse one day about the matter.

"Jim, I don't want to have to interact with you while at the pub. I get Arthur Mondays, Wednesdays, Friday's, and Saturdays. You get Arthur the other three days. Agreed?"

"Yes." said Jim not wanting to argue and thinking that she was more than generous.

* * *

Jim had found yet another malfunctioned janitorial robot.

He was working on it. Seeing what he can do with the components or to get it up and running again or if you can make it better. He was trying to occupy his time to keep his mind away from the guilt that he was feeling for waking Aurora up.

When all of a sudden the lights in his suite went out.

They flickered and then some very dim lights came on.

"Please stand by, the system within your suite is rebooting. We apologize for the inconvenience." said the computer.

Then the wall, which was basically a giant screen showing a view or landscape, disappeared and showed what seemed to be navigational data. Though he only got a quick glance at it so he wasn't sure what it was.

The ships system were down trying to reboot. Taking far too long. There was too much lag.

Jim didn't know what was going on. And in any case he had no idea how to determine what exactly it was.

* * *

Day 721

"Grand Concourse." said the computer as Aurora exited the elevator.

She made her way towards the pub.

"Good afternoon Aurora." I said Arthur. "What will I get for you?"

"Martini please." she said.

"Coming right up."

She sat down at the bar while Arthur mixed the drink.

"How are you doing Arthur?" asked Aurora.

Though she felt it was a stupid question. Arthur doesn't feel. His Pleasant personality and a joking manner is merely a program in his artificial intelligence.

"I'm doing quite well thank you." said Arthur."Yourself?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm doing better.,

He then served her the glass and then started polishing a glass with a clean dry cloth.

After a little bit of silence Arthur decided to break the ice.

"Do you regret that I told you about Jim's Secret?"

She thought about that for a moment. Ignorance is bliss, what you don't know doesn't hurt you. But she was hurting because she was woken up, even if she was happy before she knew. But that of course the phrase, ignorance is bliss, her happiness was not real happiness her happiness is just ignorance of the facts. But at the same time, is it better to not know something. Some people choose to not know. If they know that someone knows something that might cause heartache, they will actually inquire the person to not tell her.

Did Jim ask Arthur not to tell her because he was protecting her or was he protecting himself?

"I don't know. I guess that there are a lot of details in the matter to think of."

"Are you mad at me for telling?"

"No Arthur. I'm not mad at you. I'm just mad at Jim for committing the crime."

There was another long pause.

"You know I envy you Arthur."

"How so?" asked Arthur.

"You have a purpose." said Aurora. "You're always happy. Nothing ever upset you."

"How is your book coming along?" asked Arthur.

"Sort of at a standstill." said Aurora. "I've never written about myself before. I think that it's some of the best work that I've ever done, but, I lost all of my inspiration. There's only one person who can even read the book and I can't stand him. I don't know if I'll ever write again."

"Well, you know what they say, Time Heals all wounds."

"Heartbreak is a little bit more difficult."

"Have you considered simply forgiving him?" asked Arthur.

"They say that those who don't forgive are just mean and stubborn." said Aurora. "But at the same time, there are some things that are not so easily forgiven."

"Arthur!" said Jim in a dramatic monotone as he entered the bar not immediately realizing that Aurora was in there.

"Tuesday is my day with Arthur." Jim reminded Aurora.

"Today is Wednesday." said Aurora indicating she had the moral High ground with their agreement but at the same time she felt that she had enough.

She gulped down the rest of her drink and left.

"Bar is all yours." said Aurora.

Jim sat at the bar.

"What will I get for you Jim?" asked Arthur. "Whiskey?"

"No." said Jim. "Coffee."

Jim was trying to cut back on the booze again.

"No problem." said Arthur.

Not having any coffee immediately on hand as Jim and Aurora don't order it often, Arthur reached underneath the bar to press few buttons on the food synthesizer to begin Brewing the coffee. It wasn't actually real coffee, but it was more or less just strongly caffeinated dark tea colored water with artificial coffee flavor that made the dark tea color water tastes exactly like the real thing. Fortunately both Jim and Aurora we're two of the people who couldn't tell the difference.

Jim sat at the bar waiting for about 1 minute until Arthur lifted up from underneath the bar a transparent glass pot of dark brown nearly black liquid. He poured it into a ceramic mug and handed it to Jim. Jim took a sip. He knew that it was just artificially synthesized, but it was hot, and smelled, tasted, and looked exactly like the real thing. He was one of the 99 out of 100 people who couldn't tell the difference.

"So," said Arthur trying to make conversation as he began publishing a glass, "what are your long-term plans for the future?"

"I'm going to kiss Aurora's ass for the rest of her life." said Jim with a tone of remorse. "But I can't kiss her ass unless she tells me what exactly she wants from me."

"I'm under the impression that she wants space." said Arthur. "But perhaps you should do something for her. Something that she knows isn't just to butter her up, no, but rather you should do something for her that will touch her more deeply than simply buttering her up. Something that will move her so strongly, it's something that no one else who simply wants to go out with her would just do on a whim."

Jim thought about that. What could it be?

He knew that she liked New York City. And Central Park. Maybe a few potted plants on the Grand Concourse. He could obtain the plants from the Hydroponics Bay in the cargo hold. There were thousands of plants there in specialized near-perfect sustained environments. Not to mention a virtual Noah's Ark, there were literally 2 of every different animal that they could fit in there that were in stasis. One male and one female. Though all of the colony worlds probably already had this. Everything in the cargo hold was virtually trade goods anyway.

He started to wonder what it would be like on Homestead 2. He trusted that they would simply be a thriving civilization. But he wondered how populated and spread out the planet would be. It was a 120 year trip one way. Of course when you're traveling at sublight speeds, the void between solar systems takes a while. The nearest star to the Sol System, is Proxima Centauri. A Red Dwarf star within close proximity to Alpha Centauri. Both stars have a planet within the 'habitable zone' of the orbit around their stars, both of which have molten cores for a magnetic field, and both of which have been terraformed and colonized by the homestead company.

And traveling at sublight speeds takes nearly 10 years to get to Proxima Centauri from Earth. If Only they had discovered faster-than-light travel. But unfortunately they haven't. So they settle with the ion drive which grants extremely high velocity but still sublight speeds. Fortunately they didn't get too close to the speed of light, for if they did it would have created a 'time dilation' effect. Which would have created interestingly a shorter trip for the people inside the ship, though it would take just as long.

But what he was thinking of was the ship getting to Homestead 2 after 120 years trip one way. A lot can happen to an independent civilization after 120 years. Maybe the scientists on the planet had made a huge breakthrough or discovery. Not that it matters. He won't be there to find out.

But none the less Jim was going to try and find a way to soften Aurora's anger towards him.

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	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

February 15, 2198

There was a large flashy Ballroom. There was a Podium and a large number of seats set up in rows. It was a formal official press conference. Reporters from multiple news stations were there to hear what they were told was supposed to be important news.

Then of from behind a curtain walking up to the podium came Nobel prize-winning physicist Doctor Daniel McIntosh. Cameras flashed while many people called out to him to ask him some questions.

"Please everyone there will be a full Q&A in about an hour. If I can persuade you all please take your seats I will begin." said Daniel McIntosh.

Once all of the reporters and other guests had taken their seats Daniel McIntosh began.

"I am here to announce to the public that I have made a remarkable breakthrough. I've been experimenting with the manipulation of the human nervous system and metabolism.

"To jump straight to the bottom line there is a number of very precise medical procedures that must be done perfectly without mistake. By using these sophisticated manipulations of the human metabolism it is possible to stop all metabolic activity within a human body. This puts a human being into a state of dreamless coma as well as prevents them from ever aging. It is essentially a form of complete and total 'Human Hibernation' AKA 'Suspended Animation'.

"I will not be taking any questions at just this time, but I am prepared to make a full demonstration."

There was a flurry of questions from the audience as cameras flashed.

* * *

A little while later.

While all of the reporters were asked to remain quiet a volunteer was brought onto the stage by several technicians on a stretcher. Daniel McIntosh asked the assistant to begin the procedure. While the cameras recorded, it showed multiple injections throughout the volunteers body of muscle relaxants and sedatives. The procedure was done very precisely and perfectly the first time, after much practice on animals in the laboratory.

The volunteer on the stretcher stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said Daniel McIntosh, "our volunteer subject has had all of his metabolic activity within his body completely halted. With his metabolic rates at zero he will not die, he will not age, he is immune to all diseases, and his brain will not run out of oxygen. This is still in the early stages of this new breakthrough, but we hope that in time we will find a way so that the muscles will atrophy either.

"He is in complete and total hibernation. As long as he's in hibernation he will live forever. To bring him out of hibernation requires merely a different set of different kinds of stimulants as well as to defibrillate his heart. It too is a delicate process and must be done correctly, but I assure you, my assistants have trained and practiced in the laboratory a thousand times and this is not the first volunteer subject that we have tried this on. After much practice on animals first, all of our human test subjects, which we took the utmost safety precautions on, all went into hibernation and successfully came out of hibernation without incident.

"We believe that the discovery of human hibernation will have multiple applications and it will change the world."

* * *

Day 725

"Aurora we love you! What are we going to do without you." said Aurora's friends on the holographic screen.

She was observing the footage from a goodbye party that all of her friends had thrown her just before she had left Earth.

Her best friend then was talking to the camera.

"Aurora, I promise to think of you every single day for the rest of my life. I know that when you reach Homestead 2 I'm going to be dead, but I know that you were never happy here. I know that you have this adventurous lifestyle that you need to live. But I just want to say that I hope you find your happiness. And I hope you find yourself a nice guy. Someone you can love and let into your life. So on that you can listen to your heart. Take chances. Be happy. Goodbye Aurora. I'm going to miss you."

Aurora then started to think about all of the things that her friends had told her in her video of her goodbye party. She had so many people on Earth who loved her. BFF's that were loyal to her. But when she chose to leave Earth then ultimately be as good as dead to her friends. All they could do was offer support. But what could they really do to keep her in their life to get her to stay. It was too late for that now. And she wasn't even going to reach Homestead 2.

She was still peeved at Jim for waking her up, but at the same time she did know human psychology, and she was not completely ignorant to the reason why Jim woke her up. She still felt that it was no excuse. She still felt like Jim was guilty but at the same time another part of her, even a part of her that still loved him, was coming up with excuses. He was desperate. He was insanely lonely. Who was she to judge a person like that with their actions.

* * *

She then went down to the Grand Concourse. And she started walking on one of the upper levels where she looked down on Jim who was drawing some lines on the floor with a long ruler while he also had his toolbox near him. Looked like a plasma torch for cutting metal.

She didn't know what he was doing, but obviously it was some kind of project. He was always busy, always working on a project. Maybe it was his way of alleviating his guilt. She felt that he should be guilty, but then that would mean that he was truly remorseful for his crime and that she would be the bad guy she didn't forgive him. The whole situation was just too confusing for her.

She wished that she was still in hibernation. She wished that she could get back into hibernation. She thought about the love that she felt for Jim before she found out that he'd woken her up. He truly had been the perfect companion for her. He had been the perfect boyfriend in every way. He never did anything to hurt her other than waking her up itself. She thought about what her best friend had said for her to be happy and find someone. But at the same time she wanted to get to Homestead 2. And then eventually get back to Earth on her round trip ticket. She wish so desperately to be back in hibernation.

* * *

She went to the hibernation Bay and crawled into her empty pod. The surface to lie on was soft. She curled up in a fetal position on her side and closed her eyes hoping that maybe her hibernation pod would close up over her and she would fall back into suspended animation. But it didn't work like that. A medical procedure needed to put her into hibernation and then while in hibernation be placed into the pod to stay in hibernation.

She again felt Despair and hopelessness longing, as well as the cabin fever that Jim had felt before he woke her up.

She returned to her cabin to take a shower and then go to bed.

* * *

Jim walks into the pub apparently a lot happier than he'd been in a while.

"Hey Arthur." said Jim happily. "Coffee please."

"Coming right up." said Arthur with a smile.

He sat down on the bar stool with extremely dirty work pants.

"Are you soiling my Barstool?" asked Arthur as he poured Jim the coffee.

"If you want to get things done, you got to get your hands dirty."

"What exactly have you been doing?" asked Arthur.

"Improvements."

* * *

Day 731

"Grand Concourse." said the computer as Aurora exited the elevator.

When she came onto the Grand Concourse she noticed that something was different.

There was a tree. A real actual live tree in the middle of the Grand Concourse. The floor had been cut open with a plasma torch and filled with dirt. The tree must have come from the plant stasis facility in the cargo hold.

She walked over to the tree and placed her hand on the tree trunk. It felt real. If it was fake, it was an awfully good fake. This is about the closest thing to Central Park that she would get to. And in that moment she felt a small twinge of extreme gratitude towards the man that had ultimately killed her.

She then decided to go get herself some breakfast.

So she headed back to the habitation module dining room.

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	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Day 731

In the engineering section of the ship the temperature within the Reactor Core increased even further which caused an additional malfunction in some of the circuitry. The circuits sparked and surged with electricity causing some of the processors to burn out. The Redundant systems immediately took over as they were supposed to but their processes were too many.

Where then the next system failure was the diagnostic station on the bridge. With the diagnostic system failure the Redundant systems attempted to compensate. But it was then where the Redundant systems had taken on far too much and then the next system failure was the Redundant system itself.

The Secondary redundant systems immediately covered for the primary redundant systems but they were taking on too much. There was then more than a hundred different simultaneous malfunctions.

Several of the malfunctions caused power surges through the crew hibernation quarters. The Redundant systems then prioritized only 257 out of the 258 crew members hibernation pods. The one hibernation pod that was not prioritized then had a processing glitch in its primary computer core for several seconds too long and by the time it was up and running the hibernation pod thought that the ship's Journey had come to an end and that it was time to awaken the occupant, and began the second hibernation pod failure in the history of space travel.

The reanimation process began. But by the time the hibernation pod's processes came back into primary function it caused the reanimation process to be done incorrectly. Several nervous system stimulants were not injected into him and his heart was defibrillated incorrectly.

Augustus Mancuso woke up. His body felt like lead. He was familiar with the feeling. Having being put in and out of hibernation several times throughout his life. In fact he had been put into hibernation so many times that he was actually born when the ion drive was first invented hundreds of years earlier. He trusted that space travel was safe. He trusted that hibernation was safe. At no point did he ever have any reason to fear being on a ship. He always loved space travel. He had long since abandoned his family on Earth who are all now dead, and dedicated his life to working aboard the Starships. There were many such people who lived lives like that.

The holographic face appeared in front of him.

"Good morning Gus. How are you feeling."

He groaned.

"Ugg! Like shit!"

"The discomfort will pass. Post hibernation sickness is normal."

Gus never liked these interactive recorded Holograms. They always point out the blatantly obvious. Though there are some employees where it's their first time on the job.

"Let's check your vitals." said the interactive hologram. "The Avalon is on Final Approach. When you are ready, proceed to your cabin for some rest where in the morning you may begin Duty."

"Thank you." said Gus.

There was then a reprimanding beeping sound as a laser scanner swept over his body.

"There are some abnormalities in your nervous system. Before you go to your cabin please go to the infirmary for a full checkup."

He climbed out of his hibernation pod and made his way towards the door. He waved his ID band over the sensor on the side of the door and the reinforced metal hatch opened. He walked out in a disoriented State about to make his way towards the infirmary when suddenly he tripped on something in the middle of the floor and fell to the floor. Fortunately he had put his hands out in front of him just in time to break his fall.

"What in the world?!" he said in bewilderment.

When he looks at what had caused him to trip he realized that he had tripped over a tool box that was left in the middle of the hall. And there was all kinds of cluttered tools everywhere.

"What member of the crew woke up before me left all this lying around?" he said in anger.

When he looked up and down the hallway he saw on the walls of the bridge and around the consoles by the door that there were charred and had scorch marks. He was curious about this as why this happened. When he then looked back inside the crew hibernation room he noticed that only his pod had woken him up while all of the others were still in stasis.

After his trip and fall he had felt slightly more awake now and he made his way to the Infirmary. When he got there he realized that no one was there but rather than go for his check up as the computer had told him to do he made his way down to the crew quarters. He changed out of his shorts and tank top and into his uniform. If he was going to encounter anyone to inquire about the mess and the Damage that was done around the consoles he thought that he might as well look professional.

Gus then made his way to the elevator. He waved his ID band over the sensor by the door and it let him inside.

He then pressed the button for the Grand Concourse.

"Please buckle up and secure any loose items." said the computer's voice coming out of the wall. "This elevator will experience a momentary lapse in gravity."

He fastened a seatbelt and he waited the short ride for the elevator to take him to the Grand Concourse.

"Grand Concourse." said the computer that let him out of the door.

When he stepped onto the Grand Concourse he looked around. Everything seemed to be in order. He wondered why he was the first of the crew to wake up. Most likely the Captain would have been woken up first, he usually was. And then there are a few other of the service personnel. He was feeling nauseous and had a headache but he attributed that to simply the hibernation sickness that he should be experiencing. He was experiencing that as well. He wasn't entirely sure what went wrong if anything went wrong but it seemed that everything was out of order.

"Hello." said the artificial intelligence help station off to the side. "Welcome to the Grand Concourse how can I help you."

Gus walked over to the help station.

"Am I the first of the crew to wake up?" he asked.

"Several members of the crew should have woken up before you." said the help station.

He himself had had enough of these help stations throughout the several Journeys that the ship had taken while he served aboard it. When he then looked over to one area of the Grand Concourse he then saw something that was completely out of order. A tree had been planted in the middle of the metal floor. When he walked over to observe it seemed that the metal floor had been cut out with a welding torch, and then filled with dirt and then the tree was planted directly into it, roots and all. Clearly this tree came from the plant and animal stasis area within the cargo hold.

He then threw his hands up in the air in surrender and decided to just go to the security station and do a ship wide announcement.

When he got to the security station he activated the audio system that would broadcast his voice to be heard all over the ship.

"This is Deck Chief Gus Mancuso." said Gus into the microphone. "Who in the hell planted a tree on my ship?"

Letting that message sink in to whoever had done it he then decided to leave the security office and walk back to the tree. He stood by the tree for 4 minutes while he just waited. On the 4th minute there he heard footsteps running in his direction. He turned and saw a man running down one of the hallways and then stopped a few meters away from him and looked at him with surprise and bewilderment. Gus took the look on his face as that the man could not believe that he was there.

A moment later there was a woman who ran towards him from another direction she had the same look of surprise and shock on her face that he was there.

'She's hot,' thought Gus.

He was more than twice her age her senior, but he was still a man, and he could appreciate the extremely attractive beauty of a young girl. But at the same time he was a gentleman and first and most of all professional.

He then pointed his thumb towards the tree and put a look of irritation on his face.

"Who did that?" he asked with irritation in his voice, though more curiosity than irritation was actually going on in his mind.

"I did." said the man.

"And you are?" Gus asked him.

"Jim Preston." said the man.

He then looked towards the woman.

"Aurora Lane." said the woman.

"Anyone else awake?" asked Gus in a tone of disbelief that even two of them were awake at all.

"Just him and I." said Aurora Lane.

"How far along are we?" asked Gus directing his question towards Jim Preston.

"88 years to go." said Jim Preston.

Gus thought about that for a moment. 32 years into the journey and there have been...he scarcely even thought the thing, but he then realized that he had not been awoken 5 months before landing like the ship was automatically supposed to do on year 120. Something had gone wrong with his hibernation pod and he had been awoken prematurely because of a...hibernation malfunction? And then it occurred to him. There was no other way that it could have happened to these two. These two also had hibernation malfunctions. So much as one hibernation malfunction was supposed to be impossible, but three? He can scarcely comprehend the concept of it with all of his ingrained beliefs.

"Hibernation failure?" said Gus with a look on his face of confusion and disbelief. "They said that that couldn't happen. 3 pod failures? Three people awake."

He had been staring off into space while he thought these unusual scenarios over in his mind and hadn't seen the look of accusation in Aurora's face while she looked at Jim Preston when he mentioned that there had been three pod failures.

"There's no time to waste." said Gus with urgency. "We need to check out the ship's systems on the bridge right now."

He directed Aurora and Jim towards the elevator where they both got on board and he hit the button for the command ring.

"Please buckle up and secure any loose items. This elevator will experience a momentary lapse in gravity." said the voice in the wall.

Short elevator ride later they both exited the elevator.

"Command Ring." said the computer's voice.

They walked in and around the Clutter of discarded tools that were on the floor, where Gus then waived his right wrist over the door sensor beside the door.

There was a beeping sound and the door open for them.

"You have no idea how long I have been trying to get in here." said Jim with a tone of both awe and relief.

"Well, now that you are in here, don't touch anything!" said Gus the tone of authority.

"So, you work in here?" asked Aurora.

"No, I'm the deck chief." said Gus. "One of the command level senior officers, but I don't work on the bridge. Here on the bridge is usually the flight crew and the captain. I work around the rest of the ship. Mostly auditing the work of the engineers and mechanical technicians."

There was reprimanding alert coming out of a speaker in the ceiling after Jim had touched one of the buttons on one of the consoles.

"Unauthorized access!" said the computer's voice.

Both of Gus and Aurora looked at Jim with reprimanding faces.

"Sorry." said Jim.

Gus then went to the diagnostic station and hit the button that was supposed to light up the holographic three-dimensional screen.

"Okay, this isn't right. There should be dozens of different Diagnostics coming into this station from all over the ship, but there's no data. The data will be stored in data modules around the ship. Will have to go to each data station on each level of each module, and collect the data with these storage devices."

He pulled out a drawer and then pulled out a whole bunch of long flat bulky looking discs.

He then looked at the station that monitors the ship's navigational sensors.

"Whatever is wrong with the ship, hasn't affected the navigation yet, because we're still on course." said Gus, half to himself and half to the other two.

"You think that there's something wrong with the ship?" said Aurora with a tone of worry and her voice at the idea of the concept of the thing.

"Diagnostic station is off-line, and three pod failures. Yes, something most definitely is wrong to ship." he said with a tone of both surety and concern.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just turn the ship around and go back to Earth?" asked Aurora.

"We're moving at half the speed of light. Going back would take just as long as going on." said Gus.

They were about to exit through the entrance of the bridge when suddenly Gus staggered on his ankles and leaned against the wall.

"Are you alright?" asked Jim.

"Hibernation hangover." said Gus. "Get it all the time."

He had apparently recovered and then he led them to the elevator.

* * *

"Grand Concourse." said the computer's voice as they exited the elevator.

"Clearly you two have been around for awhile, any more trees that I should know about?" asked Gus.

But before Jim could say anything,

"Look out!" said Aurora as she grabbed Gus's arm and pulled him to the side just as one of the janitorial robots fell from the upper level and landed right where Gus had been a second earlier.

It's hard impact on the ground from falling so far had caused it to shatter into several dozen pieces.

Gus observe the wreckage of the robot for a few moments in curiosity at the anomaly.

"Okay?" said Gus. "I most certainly never seen anything like that before."

"In the two years since I have woken up these robots have been breaking down one at a time every now and then." said Jim. "This one makes...15."

"Whatever is happening must have affected the artificial intelligence control of the ship's janitorial robots." said Gus. "Malfunctioning hibernation pods. Malfunctioning diagnostic station on the bridge. And malfunctioning robots. I wonder what other systems have been affected?"

"The food dispenser in the dining hall went haywire this morning." said Aurora.

"I was locked in the elevator for several minutes this morning just before I heard your announcement." said Jim.

"Two weeks ago I was locked in my cabin for two days." said Aurora.

"You were?" said Jim when he looked at her with surprise.

"Well, clearly whatever is going on we do need to fix it." said Gus. "Come on, let's go look at that diagnostic data."

They went to the diagnostic control stations of the Grand Concourse.

"You should find about 12 of these stations on each level of the luxury module and habitation module and the cargo hold." said Gus.

He inserted one of the large flat discs into the station waited a few seconds and then pulled it out.

"The data will sync instantly. Once you've gone to each station and you've collected all of the data bring it back to the diagnostic station on the bridge. Me however, I want to start with where these problems on the ship all started. Our malfunctioning hibernation pods."

"That oughta be interesting." said Aurora in a tone of secretive accusation.

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	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Day 731

Gus went back to the command ring and reentered the crew hibernation room.

He took the toolbox from right outside the door that was lying on the ground among the clutter, and he went over to his hibernation pod.

He pulled open the circuit board panel on the side underneath. Several of the minor components were powered down and not receiving any electrical input from the surrounding components that they were wired to. He touched the help screen on the primary control panel of his hibernation pod where it indicated that the occupant had been discharged. He activated the function for a full diagnostic. After a few moments the results came in saying, '42% of the systems within the hibernation pod were offline. Cause - multiple system failures from the the ship's hibernation maintenance systems. Redundant systems were unable to compensate.'

"This is messed up!" said Gus in a combination of both irritation and disbelief.

* * *

"Habitation module." said the voice of the computer as Gus had exited the elevator door.

He made his way to the passengers hibernation Bay. He looked up and down the rows of hibernation pods where he saw each occupant inside still asleep as they were supposed to be.

He pulled out a holographic notepad and had it direct him towards Jim Preston's hibernation pod.

When he got there, he took a look at the thing. He had the touch screen give him a full diagnostic of the hibernation pod. After a few moments it gave a chime of approval saying that all systems within the hibernation pod were operating at 100% except that the time and date were unreliable.

He knelt down and opened up the circuit board panel on the side. After some detailed scrutiny, he found what was wrong. The clock ship that was supposed to control the time and date setting was burnt out. He immediately knew that without the clock ship operating, the Pod would think that the journey had come to an end and that it was time to awaken the occupant. With the Pod still operating at 100% just without the time and date, the reanimation process should be full and complete. He then now come to the conclusion that with his hibernation pod systems so messed up his reanimation process had been done incorrectly which explained the symptoms that he had which he now determined were far more than post hibernation sickness. He hoped that it wasn't fatal. Though without a way to get back into hibernation he was most likely doomed to die of old age on the ship before he reached Homestead 2.

He looked at his holographic Notepad and had it direct him towards the hibernation pod of Aurora Lane.

When he got there hers looked identical to Jim's hibernation pod. He had the systems on the touchscreen do a full diagnostic. It to gave results that the Pod was operating at 100% only that the time and date were unreliable.

He knelt down on the floor beside her pod and pulled out the circuit board panel. He immediately went for the clock chip. When he pulled it out though, he knew that something was wrong and not just that it was burnt out but rather there were two very distinct electrical scorch marks on either side of its main leads into the computer core. Someone had connected to miniature jumper cables on either side of it and deliberately charged it with the electricity. This is not the damage that the chip would receive from a malfunction. This was deliberate sabotage.

It was then that he could sense the presence of someone behind him.

When he turned around he was looking into the face of Jim Preston who is standing a distance away just being quiet.

"Shouldn't you be making your rounds?" asked Gus.

"I'm finished." said Jim as he held up the large data discs that he was holding. "I walked over to you here just now because I wanted to talk to you about Aurora's hibernation pod."

'This should be an interesting conversation.' thought Gus.

"I thought you might." said Gus. "I checked out all 3 of our hibernation pods. The problem with your hibernation pod is quite simple really. Burnt-out clock chip. It's not supposed to happen, and I don't know how it happened, but none the less it did happen.

"My hibernation pod is not the same as yours and Aurora's. It's much more complicated. It failed because of multiple system failures from the ship's redundant systems that were supposed to maintain all of the hibernation pods. Caused my hibernation pod systems to go haywire when it initiated the reanimation process incorrectly. It's probably why I'm feeling so bad."

He then gave them mild cough as though he was choking on something.

"But Aurora's pod…" he continued as he then stood up and then paused, "...you did this."

It wasn't a question but merely a statement of fact.

"I won't deny it." said Jim.

"You know, when I first realized that the three of us were awake because of hibernation failure, I thought back up there on the Grand Concourse when I saw the two of you that you had to be the luckiest son-of-a-bitch in the universe to get stuck alone on this ship with a girl like her...but it wasn't luck was it?"

"No, it wasn't." said Jim with a neutral tone of voice.

"She knows?" asked Gus, not entirely sure whether or not Aurora was living in state of blissful ignorance right now.

"Yeah." said Jim. "She knows. She's pretty mad at me."

"I assume you did it...because you were alone?" said Gus wording it modestly, thinking of the 'man trapped on a deserted island' scenario.

"Yeah." said Jim with the tone of remorse.

"How long were you alone before you woke her up?"

"A year."

"What led up to your decision in actually doing the deed of waking her up?" asked Gus, not looking for an excuse, no, but rather merely trying to understand Jim's mindset when he committed the deed.

"I tried to put myself back into hibernation, but there was no way to do it. You know the process for being put in hibernation." explained Jim. "I tried everything for months, I was completely stuck in my situation and there was nothing I could do. With that I would just like to say that I would like to write a very criticizing letter to the Homestead Company. They focused so hard on preventing hibernation failure from ever happening in the first place that they failed to create a contingency protocol on what someone was supposed to do if it ever actually did happen."

Gus closed his eyes and nodded with a serious frown.

"I understand." said Gus.

"As time went by, I just became so lonely and suicidal with loneliness that I felt that I needed to awaken another one of the passengers for companionship. I didn't wake her up on a whim, no, I worked myself up to it for a very long time. And my conscience always told me not to do it and for the longest time I didn't. And I didn't just select her at random. I saw her face by accident one day, and then I got to know her from the database and I fell in love with her mind. And then I woke her up, only, and I stress, ONLY...in my darkest hour out of desperation."

Gus did not approve of Jim's actions of waking Aurora up. But at the same time he couldn't blame Jim for what he did. No disrespect intended towards Aurora's situation because of it.

"I understand." said Gus. "But still…'Damn'!" said Gus referring to the situation of being trapped on the ship with Aurora anyway.

With the mystery of the hibernation pods solved he then took the data disks and headed off to the bridge.

* * *

When he got to the bridge he inserted the data disks into the diagnostic console and the data synced with the holographic display. The diagnostic console then showed the diagnostics as if the rest of the ship had been running as each system failure had come up.

There were hundreds of system failures in the last 2 years. But it just seemed to be a chain reaction as though each system failure was causing the next. But Gus could understand why. The Redundant systems were supposed to take care of the occasional system failure but the system failures weren't supposed to continue. There seemed to be something on the ship that was causing the system failures steadily and continuously. And the rate of system failure was continuing to increase.

The door to the bridge then opened which he had set to allow for the ID bands of Aurora Lane and Jim Preston. Out of the side of his eye he noticed that Aurora entered the room carrying her data discs. She handed the disks to him and he plugged them into the diagnostic station where it then displayed the Diagnostics that were stored on the disks.

"Same as all the others." said Gus more to himself than to Aurora. "A large number of randomly occurring system malfunctions but no apparent connection."

Aurora on the other hand had her interest on something else for this conversation.

"You checked out the hibernation pods?" she asked, half a statement of fact and half a question.

"Yeah." said Gus. "I did."

"So, you know...that he deliberately woke me up?" said Aurora with impatience.

"Yes." said Gus. "I know." he acknowledged.

"...And!?" prompted Aurora with impatience.

"It's not my place to judge him on matters of morals and ethics,"

"He woke me up!" said Aurora loudly and firmly interrupting him in mid-sentence. "He took my life!"

"I understand that." said Gus sympathetically. "But I'm just a little bit busy trying to solve some technical problems the ship,"

"It's murder!" she interrupted him in mid-sentence again giving a statement of philosophical semantics.

He put down his electronic notepad and gave her his attention.

"Okay, I understand." said Gus explaining his view of semantic ethics on the matter. "His actions have had huge negative impact on you. But you need to understand the situation that he was in. He was desperate. He was desperately desperate. The man was drowning. You need to understand about a 'drowning man' is that they are always going to drag someone down with them. Don't get me wrong, I'm on your side. But I also need to sympathize with him for his situation; I'm not saying that it's right, no, but the man is still drowning. What I'm saying is that while I sympathize with you for what is happened to you because of his actions, if I was one of the jurors at his trial in a court of law, I would verdict him guilty, yes, but verdict that he be 'excused' of punishment because he was under extreme duress from no fault of his own."

Aurora of course already knew this. She knew that Jim had been crazy with cabin fever when he chose to wake her up and she'd been told by Arthur that he had not walking her up on a whim, no, but rather he had to work himself up to it for months. But at the same time her selfish angry side wanted to blame him and make him a villain.

It was then that the door to the Bridge opened and Jim walked in carrying a janitorial robot in his hand.

"This one makes 16." he said.

It was then that Gus staggered and started coughing again and again as though he had something stuck in his throat.

"Are you alright Gus?" asked Aurora.

"You just got out of hibernation." said Jim. "You're supposed to get some rest before you do anything."

"You're right." said Gus. "But, just a few short hours and then right back to this first thing in the morning."

Gus exited the bridge and made his way to the elevator.

"I need a drink." he said to himself.

* * *

"Grand Concourse." said the computer as Gus exited the elevator.

He made his way to the pub.

Arthur was at the far end of the bar behind the bar when he slid over on his track in the floor to give Gus his attention.

"Hello Chief Mancuso," said Arthur, "what can I get for you? The usual?"

"Yes Arthur, thank you." said Gus.

A few moments later Arthur prepared a Long Island Iced Tea.

"Thank you Arthur." said Gus.

"You're welcome." said Arthur.

Arthur then picked up a clean glass and a clean washcloth and started polishing the glass.

"So how are you doing chief." asked Arthur.

"Hibernation failure." said Gus absent-mindedly.

"Yes that seems to be happening a lot lately."

"Do you know what's going on with this ship?" asked Gus.

Arthur thought for a second, his AI scanning the ship's computer.

"I don't have access to that. But things have been happening. I have merely been tending to my primary function of tending bar and serving the customers."

"And you do it well Arthur."

He finished the rest of his drink.

"Thanks for the drink Arthur."

"Anytime Chief."

* * *

Gus then made his way to his quarters.

When he got to his cabin he felt extremely weak. He then coughed into his hand and realize that he had coughed up blood. He was worried. What did his symptoms mean?

He got into bed lying down under his covers fully clothed and fell asleep quickly.

* * *

Day 732

Unbeknownst to the diagnostic station, there were another 29 simultaneous system malfunctions throughout the ship. Which then caused more of the Redundant systems to fail which then resulted in a burned-out processor that operated the centripetal rotation of the ship. As the ship carried on its course the ship stopped spinning. The Redundant systems were supposed to take over, but the Redundant systems that had not failed yet were already taking on too much and while they were attempting to reboot the centripetal rotation there was an extreme amount of lag on some additional computer processes that had not completed their process yet. 3 long whole minutes this major system that was prioritized among the Redundant systems remained offline until finally at the start of the fourth minute the Redundant systems got through the lag of the excess processes and reinitialized the centripetal rotation of the ship.

* * *

Gus then heard banging on his door that roused him from his sleep.

"Gus!" said the voice of Aurora Lane. "Gus, open the door!"

Gus got out from underneath the bed covers and walked to the door where he then waved his right hand over the door sensor. The door opened.

There was Jim, he had changed into clean clothes, while Aurora had wet hair and glistening skin that was only half dry, while wearing a bathrobe and bathing suit.

"What is it?" asked Gus.

"You didn't feel that?"

"Feel what?" asked Gus.

"The gravity just went out." said Jim. "I almost broke my arm by falling too far to the floor in my cabin."

"I was in the pool and almost drowned in floating water." said Aurora.

Gus's sleep had been too deep and he had been partially tied to his bed with his tucked in sheets.

"My sleep was very deep." said Gus. "Let's get back to the bridge."

 **Please review!**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Day 732

Aurora made a slight detour to her cabin to change out of her bathing suit.

When Aurora got to the bridge Jim and Gus were working at some of the consoles doing Diagnostics on systems and looking over data.

"So what's the verdict?" asked Aurora. "On the ship's systems?"

"There are two kinds of systems." said Gus. "Priority One systems, and secondary priority systems. Secondary priority systems are basically minor systems that we can do without. Number one priority systems however are absolute essential systems that are extra protected by extra redundancies. So far according to these Diagnostics on the data, none of the Priority One systems have failed yet. Until now of course. The ship's centripetal rotation is a number one priority system.

"That means that whatever is happening is starting to hit the big ticket items within the ship's systems. Not good! If the ship's centripetal rotation can actually stop because of a malfunction, then that means that any of the number one priority systems could fail at any time. Life support, the reactor core, main power, etc."

"So what do we do?" asked Aurora.

"Computer, display me a timeline from now back until the 1st malfunction took place."

A holographic display then appeared on the Diagnostics console showing raised and falling bars from their present-day all the way back to day one when the first malfunction happened.

"There." pointed Gus towards the first bar on day one. "The computer says that something happened, only it's not sure what. But something happened which then resulted in 17 simultaneous malfunctions but only 16 were taken over by the Redundant systems, their systems were not able to compensate for the malfunction of hibernation pod 1498."

"The day that I woke up." said Jim.

"After that the malfunctions continued, but more than just continued, the rate of malfunctions is accelerating. At this rate systems are going to burn out from being overworked and all of the number one priority systems are going to fail."

"When?" asked Aurora.

"Computer, based on the rate of malfunction increase, what will happen if this continues."

A mathematical calculation was made by the computer and the rising and falling bars and graphs extended past the present and into the future on the holographic display.

"Complete and total system failure imminent. All Ships systems will permanently shut down in 23 hours and 19 minutes."

They were all silent for a while at this news.

"So," said Aurora with a tone of despair and resigned resignation to doom in her voice, "we are stuck...on a sinking ship!"

"Is there any way to stop it?" asked Jim.

"Need to find the source of the problem." said Gus. "If we can find out what is causing the continuous malfunctions, and stop it, then we may restore all systems permanently. We're going to the engineering section."

* * *

They got in the elevator and push the button that required an employee's ID band. But then took them down a different elevator route that brought them to the rear module of the ship.

The interior floor surface area was a large cylinder. And it was bigger than several football stadiums. And it was filled with all kinds of equipment and machinery for operating the ship.

"Alright. So where do we begin?" asked Aurora.

But before Gus could say anything he then fainted on the ground.

"Gus!" said Aurora with worry.

"We need to get him to the Infirmary." said Jim.

Together they picked him up and carried him back into the elevator.

Jim pressed the button for the command ring.

When they got to the command ring, they Carried Gus to the Infirmary. They then carried him and placed him inside the autodoc. The autodoc then scanned him with laser scanners.

Jim looked at the screen as the word disorders appeared at the top and then dozens upon dozens of disorders showed up in a long list. By the time the list was over the final one was had a count of 642.

"What's wrong with me?" asked Gus.

"It's a few things." said Jim significantly down playing it.

"642 disorders found." said the computer out loud.

"Get me out of here."

The autodoc opened. Gus climbed out with the help of Jim and Aurora holding his arms.

He got to his feet and walked to the console.

"Computer. Tell me what is wrong with me."

"I am unable to discuss such matters without a physician present." said the computer.

He waived his right wrist over the console and it beeped detecting his ID band.

"Override on my authority. Security password 2317."

"Massive nervous system failure, mixed with cellular degeneration. Cause unknown." said the computer.

"My goofy hibernation pod that's the reason!" said Gus in extreme irritation.

"Multiple organ failure is imminent." said the computer.

"Computer, are there any treatments available for curing him." asked Jim.

"Several treatments are available for this condition, but there is no cure. None of the treatments will meaningfully extend the patient's life."

'I'm going to die!" Gus thought in despair towards himself. His life was over. And there was nothing that he could do.

"How long do I have?" asked Gus with reluctant resignation.

"Complete and total nervous system and organ failure is already in its final stages." said the computer.

The medication dispenser then dispensed four multi colored capsule pills into a little bowl.

"These sedatives will alleviate your symptoms in these final hours." said the computer.

Hobbling on the balls of his feet as though he was injured he slowly walked out of the room without taking the pills.

He then turned back towards Aurora and Jim.

"I need a minute." he said getting his bearings while accepting his fate with dignity.

He refused the medication because he felt that he could do without it. He felt that there was no point. What is the point of alleviating your symptoms in your final hours.

Aurora and Jim left him alone to give him his space and dignity.

* * *

Gus dressed himself in his work uniform. And then he went to the viewing area. He just wanted to look at the stars.

She saw the movement of the Stars constantly going upwards which in turn was actually just the centripetal rotation of the ship.

* * *

About an hour had passed.

He needed to fix the ship, but he didn't have the strength or time to do it. He felt himself getting weaker. Getting more fatigued. He should get up, he thought to himself, he should find Aurora and Jim and give them instructions. Jim is a mechanical engineer, and a competent one, he just needs the means to get around the ship. He was about to get up to go and find them with what little strength he had left, when he heard their footsteps coming up behind him as they walked into the viewing area.

He felt his symptoms getting worse, pain, nausea, mental fatigue and inability to concentrate and he didn't like it. And then felt like a silly little child who is just being stubborn.

"Should have taken the damn pills!" said Gus referring to his symptoms.

"I'll go get them." said Jim as he was about to get up.

"No." said Gus. "Stay. I have some instructions to give to you two. There's not much time left. The ship is going to be destroyed unless you fix it."

He then turned to Aurora.

"Aurora. I know that you're mad at Jim for waking you up, but you have got to forgive him. Not for his benefit, no, but for yours. The longer you're mad at him, you're only hurting yourself. You have to spend the rest of your life on this ship with him, and there's nothing that can be done about it. You need to trust Jim to take care of you. And I think that after what he did to you you can count on him kissing your ass for the rest of your life."

He then turned to Jim, and then he handed him his ID bracelet.

"My ID band. My password is 2317. My ID band will get you into secure areas. Simply wave my ID band over the door sensor and say my password and the computer will think that you are me."

His torso than wobbled on his hips as his eyes and head drooped.

"Fix the ship! Take care of each other. You're going to be each other's only company. You're going to need each other for emotional and moral support."

He then lay down on his side and rested his head on the floor.

Jim checked for his breathing and his pulse.

"He's dead." said Jim.

The lights then dimmed. The ship than shook and red emergency lights then came on but they were a poor substitute for the bright white lights that regularly illuminated the rooms.

Aurora closed her eyes took in a deep breath and let it out and she said to herself inside her mind, "I forgive you Jim."

She said it with all of her understanding for the duress and Desperation that he was under when he committed the act of waking her up.

Aurora then focused on the task at hand.

"Jim." said Aurora. "Can you fix the ship?"

"I think I can." said Jim with confidence. "I'll need you to come with me."

They got up and ran out into the Grand Concourse. As they headed for the elevator when they went by the pub. And they saw that Arthur was going haywire as were all the other systems on the ship. The gravity kept cutting out for brief moments. The janitorial robots were all over the place doing nothing in particular. As the ship shook and the gravity went out random objects that were not secured fell over.

They ran into the pub and attempted to stop Arthur from hurting himself as he was banging his head on the bar. It again grabbing glasses and breaking them. Jim left over the bar and went behind the bar where he then reached for the circuit board at the base of Arthur's torso. One of the many technical manuals that he had examined in the past two years was interestingly about the artificial intelligence bartender.

He pulled out the circuit board that operated his main systems and Arthur then went into low-power mode.

They ran to the elevator. Fortunately it was still working though it paused a few times on its way. They had pressed the button for the engineering section. Wherever the problem would be it would be in a place with a lot of computers and circuit boards.

When they got off the elevator in the engineering section they then looked at the giant colossal room.

"We got 22 hours until full system failure, at least that's what the computer said." said Jim. "Let's just start looking at random."

"Jim, this might sound extremely hypocritical of me to say, but shouldn't we wake up a few members of the crew to help us?"

"If we had the time, yes, but it'll take too long for them to be up to their full mental faculties. So we don't have time. We might as well let them sleep and we fix the ship ourselves."

"Okay," said Aurora, "just out of curiosity, what exactly is it that we are looking for?"

"Something broken." said Jim.

So for the next 2 hours they went from circuit board panel to circuit board panel pulling each one out of the slots that they were in to see if they were damaged. Everything seemed to be alright. Therefore the problem was not there.

They kept looking.

Another hour after that they tried to go through a door. But even with Gus's password and ID band the door would not open. The door just kept giving off a reprimanding buzzing sound refusing to open.

"Something must be wrong." said Jim off hand merely concerned about the technical anomaly of the door not opening.

"We're looking for wrong." pointed out Aurora.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Day 732

Jim then took out a tool that would allow him to bypass doors. This tool was useless for the bridge and crew quarters, but it would work for this door. When he bypassed the door and it opened they were taken off guard as the air around them was sucked like a giant vacuum cleaner into the room.

They saw the rush of freezing condensed air go into a small hole in the floor about the size of a basketball.

'A hull breach!' thought Jim in a panic as he was hanging on to the door and holding it open with his body because the computer immediately tried to close the door in order to prevent the evacuation of the atmosphere from the other side. Aurora was holding on to a bar in the middle of the room going from floor to ceiling. Not an easy feat as the bar was colder than ice.

Jim managed to kick and dislodge the glass notepad that had been blown against the grate. The glass Notepad went towards the hole in the floor and covered 99% of the hole, preventing the air from evacuating very fast.

One of the many things that a ship has in case of emergency throughout the ship, though the people who made the ship always hoped that the emergency won't arise, is a foam like metal substance from fire-extinguisher-like canisters on the wall. Spray them into an area and it comes out as liquid and then foams up and solidifies in seconds.

Aurora let go of the bar and attempted to secure the notepad Over the Hole.

Jim let go of the door and the door shut. What little air was in the room continued to evacuate around the sides of the glass notepad and they could feel their ears popping.

Jim grab the fire extinguisher like canister from the wall and told her to get out of the way and sprayed the notepad that was covering the hole. The foam like substance solidified in seconds and the computer then repressurized the room.

They both sat on the floor and breathed hard exhausted as well I was out of breath from the atmosphere.

"There is a hole in the ship!" said Aurora in disbelief. "I thought the ship was supposed to be meteorite proof?"

"I guess one got through." said Jim. "Let's find out where it goes."

They followed the path of the meteorite puncture that went through several walls, ceilings, and floors.

After going up and down several different staircases and doors they came to a wall with the meteorite puncture where Jim then held his hand in front of it when he saw some glowing orange light coming through.

His hand felt heat coming out.

"It's hot." said Jim.

They went around the corner and then came to a closed-door. Jim waved Gus's ID band which he had had the sense to stick into his pocket securely before they opened the door that sucked out of vacuum.

The door admitted them. When the door opened it lead into the reactor control room. The room was sweltering hot. Well over 40 degrees Celsius.

On the wall opposite from the door was a glass window made of a remarkable clear transparent space-age polymer that was supposed to withstand extreme heat and pressure. On the other side of the glass they saw the ship's fusion power reactor.

The reactor itself was a high output fusion generator that creates a vortex-like cyclone of light glowing blue plasma energy around itself that then reacts with subatomic particles of their universes own space-time in order to generate a very large quantity of electricity. The Vortex like Cyclone of light glowing blue plasma energy had ignited on fire two years earlier shortly after the first malfunction, the flame was small and initially was nothing, but the flame had grown steadily bigger and hotter ever since. There was now a Vortex like Cyclone of Yellow hot fire swirling around and around the reactor core and continue to get hotter.

"Oh my God!" said Aurora in a tone of both awe, fear, and despair. "How are we going to fix this!?"

"We need to expose the Reactor Core chamber to the vacuum of space." said Jim in answer to her question.

Jim looked around the room, and then he saw the reactor control room computer core. It had taken a direct hit from the meteorite.

Jim quickly did some fast math and Science in his brain as he looked at this type of damage on a primary computer core especially connected directly into the ship's power reactor. This is what had been causing the chain reaction of system malfunctions. If he could fix this then it would rehabilitate the primary systems by 100%, permanently.

He examined with his hands over the damaged module. All he needed to do was pull it out and then put a fresh one in. Just the thing is the damaged one was still doing its job, more or less, to pull it out would cause a complete shutdown of all systems. That would make things worse exponentially. Meaning not that he shouldn't do it, but that he simply needed to do it quickly.

"We need to replace this computer module right here." said Jim.

"That's it?" asked Aurora thinking that it couldn't possibly be that easy.

"That's it." said Jim with confidence and surety.

"So what do we do exactly?" asked Aurora.

"We pull it out and put a new one in." said Jim.

"Are there replacement computer modules on board?" asked Aurora.

"In the cargo hold." said Jim.

They rushed out of the room.

They made their way back to the elevator.

They pressed the button for the cargo hold and the elevator took them there.

Jim had scoured the cargo hold for months, and he knew relatively what to find and where to find it. They made their way half way down the cargo hold module of the ship, until Jim found in the darkness of their flashlights just what he was looking for.

He opened up one of the containers and he found replacement computer parts. He examined each one as there were several different kinds. Not all of them are standardized. Each one was customized for a certain system.

After some searching and examination he found the ones for the reactor room computer core.

"You know, for all of these redundant components you think they would have made a contingency on what a passenger's supposed to do if they come out of hibernation early." said Jim though he had mentioned this several times in exasperation.

Even though he only needed one he grabbed two just in case.

"Alright we got what we need. Let's go."

The ship continue to shake as more and more malfunctions begin to happen with the chain reaction of them.

The ship's redundant systems were overloaded and way overworked. More and more of the Redundant systems began to shut down. Multiple systems weren't even working under the Redundant systems anymore. The Redundant systems attempted to prioritize the priority systems but the load was still too much and the Redundant systems were getting extremely tired as much as computer operating systems can get tired under processing for too long, or at least too much.

* * *

They managed to get back to the engineering section just in time. As they got out of the elevator the elevator systems then failed permanently. That was close.

They ran as fast as they could until they got back to the reactor control room.

As hot as it was in the room before it looked like the temperature had increased by several degrees Celsius even more in the 41 minutes that they were gone.

"Alright Aurora," said Jim, "you hold the good computer core module. I'm going to pull out the bad one and then all of the systems are going to go offline. We then immediately slap the fresh good computer module back in its place and all of the systems should come back online instantly."

Aurora nodded.

Jim then took hold of the damaged module and pulled it out. With a droning sound all of the systems went down but almost instantly the swirling Vortex of bright yellow flame inside the reactor grew even bigger and hotter as what little affect the Safety Systems containment unit was doing apparently was now gone. Jim took the fresh module from Aurora and slipped it into place.

With a pleasant humming like sound the computer consoles and lights in the reactor control room came back online.

* * *

The entire ship, the flashing red lights indicating that something was bad then went off and turned to the regular lights.

* * *

On the bridge the computer consoles registered that the Redundant systems had relinquished control and all of the original primary systems were back online and operating at 100%.

* * *

"Reactor computer core restored." said the computer. "All primary systems fully rehabilitated."

The computer detecting the excessive amount of unstable flame inside the reactor. The computer activated the venting system where it exposes the reactor to the vacuum of space in order to extinguish the fire.

But there was a malfunction that neither the primary systems nor the Redundant systems could compensate for.

"Attempting to expose reactor to vacuum of space." said the computer out loud. "Auto venting system failed."

"But we fixed it!" said Aurora in exasperation.

"Please attempt manual venting." said the computer.

And a lever then appeared at one of the consoles.

Jim then walked over to it and pulled at the lever.

There was a venting shaft that was large enough for a grown man to walk through. It had two doors. An inner door, and an outer door, when the shaft vents the reactor, both doors are supposed to open. The manual switch had been able to open the inner door, but not the outer door by yet another malfunction.

A large plunger like effect happened inside the reactor chamber, which was intended to restart the reactor. But unless the outer door opened and the reactor was able to vent, then the restart process was useless.

"What is going on?" asked Aurora.

The computer hearing the words that came out of Aurora's mouth gave her an answer on the screen on the wall. "Outer door malfunction. Reactor unable to vent. Reactor temperature tolerance is reaching maximum entropy."

"What do we do?" asked Aurora.

Jim then touched a few buttons on the console searching for airlocks that were nearby to the venting shaft.

"I've got to go out there." said Jim.

"No Jim," said Aurora, "it's too dangerous."

"I think I can handle it. We've got to do this."

They left the reactor control room and made their way towards the nearest airlock that was closest to the reactor venting shaft.

* * *

When they got to the airlock he quickly suited up into a space suit. He put on the space helmet.

He then reached into a supply cupboard and pulled out an earpiece and gave it to Aurora.

"So that we can stay in contact." said Jim.

And then he gave Aurora Gus's ID band.

"Hang on to this until I get back." said Jim.

"Wait," said Aurora, "what if the reactor vents in your face?"

He thought about that for a second, the space suits were designed to protect them from anything short of a low-yield explosion. The venting of the reactor just might be the equivalent of a low-yield explosion.

He grabbed the plasma torch from the toolbox and then he grabbed hold of one of the Vault-like doors that was smaller than his body and he cut it right off of its hinges. He then held it like an arm Shield.

"It ought to be good for something."

He took a few of his tools with him that he thought he would need for mechanical stuff in space.

He then left the antechamber to go into the airlock where he then heard Aurora's voice.

"Jim." said Aurora in desperation and urgency. "Come back to me. I can't live the rest of my life on the ship without you."

"I will." Jim promised.

The inner door then closed and Jim lifted the safety switch and pressed the red button which opened the outer door, the atmosphere inside the airlock was evacuated into space while his magnetic boots held him in place.

He walked outside, after a few steps of going past the outer door of the airlock a line came out of the side of the wall and connected to a suit.

"Tether attached." said the computer.

Following the ship schematics that he had memorized he made his way in the direction of the reactor venting shaft.

Aurora then made her way back to the reactor control room. When she entered she was hit by a blast of hot air. The reactor control room was like an oven. The air was still tolerable but just barely. She was sweating bullets in seconds and quickly her clothing was drenched in sweat. She went over to the manual venting switch and when she placed her hand on it she quickly pulled it away as the handle was so hot that it burned her. Not enough to scold her skin for the fraction of a second that she had touched it, but had she held onto it for too long the skin of the palm of her hand would look like it had a really bad sunburn.

"Reactor temperature has reached its maximum limit." warned the computer.

The protective glass between the control room and the reactor chamber began to crack and the cracks begin to grow.

"Jim, are you almost there?" said Aurora getting impatient, not that Jim is being slow, but just that she was realizing they were running out of time.

"I've reached the venting chamber." said Jim through the comm.

Jim's tether then disconnected from a suit and then I nearby tether connected.

"Range of tether exceeding limit reconnecting tether." said the computer.

He then made his way down the venting shaft until he got to the outer door.

He pressed a few buttons that were supposed to make the door open, but the little screen said that there was a malfunction.

"The outer door still won't open, I'm going to attempt a manual bypass."

He took his multi adaptable screwdriver and inserted it into the manual override and twisted 90 degrees counter clockwise. And the outer door opened. Once it was open he released his hand but then the screwdriver twisted back to its original position and the door closed.

Jim then tried it again. Again the door opened when he twisted the screwdriver but when he released his hand from it it twisted back and the door closed again.

"Aurora." said Jim. "Something's gone wrong. The door will open but it won't stay open, unless I hold it open." said Jim understanding the inevitability of the situation.

"You're going to hold the door open while it vents?" said Aurora with disbelief and panic.

Jim activated his magnetic boots which held him in place while he then Twisted the screwdriver holding the door open and held his makeshift arm shield in front of him to protect him from the blast.

"It's the only way Aurora." said Jim with determination in his voice. "Vent the reactor."

"No Jim!" she said with desperation and despair.

"You have to." said Jim.

"I can't!" said Aurora now crying. "If I do it will kill you!"

"Reactor temperature critical. Reactor meltdown imminent." warned the computer.

"Aurora. You have to or else the ship will be destroyed."

"Then let it be destroyed!" said Aurora. "I can't live without you! If you go, I go!"

"Aurora." Jim urged her. "There are five thousand people on this ship. And they'll have a chance to make it to Homestead 2. Do it for them Aurora."

Aurora thought. Tears streaming down her eyes as she cried with despair. Jim was her other half. She loved him. She may have shunned him ever since her birthday but that wasn't because she stopped loving him, just because she was mad at him about finding out the truth.

She felt that she had wasted what little time they had. And now she wanted that time back. But she knew that she had to save the sleeping passengers.

Taking off her outer shirt and using it to protect her hand from the heat of the handle, she hesitated for way too long. And then she pulled the switch.

The inner door opened and the vacuum of space rushed into the reactor chamber while the atmosphere inside the reactor chamber rushed out through the tube.

Jim was hit by an extreme force of fire and pressure. He groaned at the force of the pressure against him. He leaned into it holding his makeshift arm shield in front of him. While at the same time keeping a firm grip on the twisted screwdriver. He needed to hold the outer door open for as long as possible.

It took 9 long slow seconds for the inside of the reactor chamber to completely decompress in the vacuum of space. And on the last second Jim's hand and his magnetic boots lost their grip and he was blown out into space.

Jim's tether reached its maximum limit and yanked on it so hard that it snapped.

Meanwhile inside the reactor room, the ship's redundant systems were able to do their job without being overtaxed at all and immediately reinitialized the reactor and again it was swirling with the vortex like cyclone of glowing blue plasma energy.

"Reactor Core stable." the computer reported the good news.

* * *

Outside of the ship Jim was moving with the momentum of relative motion in space towards the ion drive. Combined with the ship's Shield anything that passes through would be completely disintegrated.

"You think they would have installed into these space-suits directional accelerant thrusters." thought Jim in a panic.

He then threw his makeshift arm Shield towards the Ion Drive, the force of the movement propelled him away in another direction, albeit slowly.

"Aurora?" said Jim over the Comm.

"Jim!" said Aurora in extreme relief. "You did it! You did it, you can come back in now."

"Yeah, problem there." said Jim. "My tether broke. I'm tumbling out into space."

"I'll come and get you." said Aurora as she sprinted towards the airlock chamber.

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	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Day 732

Aurora sprinted to the airlock. But she could still here Jim's voice in Her earpiece.

"I'm not going to make it." said Jim. "My suit is breached. I'm leaking atmosphere, slowly, but it won't last long."

"Just hang on Jim," said Aurora, "I'm coming."

As Jim's space suit atmosphere became thinner the temperature inside became colder. It soon felt like a meat locker inside of this suit.

"I wish that we could both still be in hibernation right now." said Jim.

He was feeling like he needed to say his last words. Words that you don't usually say unless you're on your deathbed.

"I would have built you a house." said Jim. "I would have read your book...Aurora...I...love...you…"

And then he lost consciousness.

Aurora had made it to the airlock. She hit the button that had the space suit open up like an eggshell. She stepped inside of it. And it closed over her arms legs and torso. She secured the space helmet on the neck piece. And then she stepped into the airlock. The inner door closed and she lifted the safety switch and press the red button. The outer door opened and the atmosphere inside the airlock was evacuated into space. Her magnetic boots held her in place. She stepped out. The robotic cable sneaked out and connected to her suit.

"Tether attached." said the computer.

"Locate Jim Preston." Aurora ordered.

The holographic display inside her space helmet then locked on to Jim floating out amongst the stars. She deactivated her magnetic boots and kicked off in his direction.

Should floated towards him. Her aim in his direction when she get kicked off was good, otherwise she would have floated off in the wrong direction. She got closer and closer to him. She was excited with anticipation. She was just about to reach him when...her tether reached its limit.

"No!" Aurora screamed in denial. She then start the cry knowing that it was hopeless as Jim continued to float away and she had no way to get closer to him.

And then a couple seconds later her excitement grew again as she saw Jim's severed tether swing around towards her. She grabbed hold of it. She pulled him in. And she held him tight when she got hold of him. She could see his space helmet frosting up, as well as a few cracks on it.

She hit the retractor button on the panel on her side of her arm.

The ship then begin to ravel in her tether until she got to the outer airlock.

Jim suits still had a little atmosphere inside because the suits stored Air Supply was backfilling, but that was only slowing the decompression not stopping it completely.

She pressed the button that opened the outer door and she stepped back inside. She hit the button that then closed the door. And the airlock repressurized. She wasted no time in getting his space helmet off.

She dragged him inside the antechamber where she then got his space suit off with a great deal of difficulty. She removed her own space suit, and then, with tremendous strength for a young girl, she slung the heavy grown man over her shoulder and hobbled slowly through the engineering section with the burden of the weight on her shoulders.

* * *

It was more than 6 minutes of very slowly carrying a heavy weight through the engineering section of the ship until she got to the elevator. She then hit the button for the command ring.

Impatient at the short elevator ride to the command ring, she exited the elevator and then dragged him from under the armpits into the Infirmary under the weight caused by the centripetal rotation.

She heaved with her arms and back and legs under his armpits to lift him into the autodoc. She straightened him out on his back, the autodoc closed, and then it swept over him with multiple laser scanners.

"The patient is dead." said the computer

"Then resuscitate him!" she screamed at the computer.

"Resuscitation is not recommended without an attending physician." said the computer.

She gritted her teeth and slammed her fist down on the table in frustration. But then she remembered Gus's ID band. She pulled it out of her pocket and swept it in front of the console and then it beeped in detection of the ID band.

The computer then thinking that she was Gus listened to the words that came out of her mouth.

"Override on my authority." said Aurora.

But she then paused as her short-term memory couldn't immediately remember the 4 digit code, but when she closed her eyes and thought real hard she then retraced her steps and listened to Gus in her mind as he had said the code at the time.

"2317, ID 2317!" she rushed out in impatience.

A number of medical selections then came up on the screen. She then hit the button that said 'resuscitation' where it then gave several different methods of resuscitation. Not knowing which one would actually save him she decided to try all of them, though at the same time she wondered if using all of them at once would kill him.

The computer then warned her, "Multiple resuscitation procedures are not recommended."

"Then do it anyway!" she screamed at the computer.

The autodoc then injected Jim with multiple syringes as well as injecting his heart with adrenaline, as well as defibrillating his heart with electricity while performing CPR.

When it was done, his heart was beating again and he started breathing.

With tears of joy she open the autodoc and climbed on top of him and just held him. She just held on for dear life!

"Aurora." he said with a quiet scratching voice.

"Jim!" she said with joy.

"Is the ship out of danger?"

"Yes." said Aurora. "The fire in the reactor is gone and all of the primary systems have been fully restored."

"When I'm feeling up to it, I'm going to do an inspection just to make sure."

"You do that." said Aurora with a smile and then she kissed him.

* * *

Day 741

"Journal entry, Aurora Lane." Aurora voice typed into her holographic notepad. "We have fixed the problem. According to the diagnostic station in the Bridge all systems are fully restored and there have been no further malfunctions. The ship is undergoing a self-repair function. All of the janitorial robot are cleaning up everything and fixing whatever they can. Unless another meteorite gets through the ship's Shields, there won't be any more problems until we reach Homestead 2. Me and Jim are back together. And a relief to me. To forgive someone really makes you feel better. Not that I consider myself an unforgiving person before, I was just mad at him. The things we do to hurt ourselves only we don't know it. End entry."

* * *

Jim was still a little weak, but he was able to walk. It was using Gus's ID to look through the functions on the autodoc. Apparently when it was in 'command mode' overwriting all medical safety procedures it had a number of interesting functions. He wasn't sure what to do with them, but he just had a feeling that he needed to look through and see what all functions do, maybe one of them would be worth something one day.

And then when he was scrolling through the different functions, he found one. It was just a title, 'Stabilize and Suspend'. He then inquired to the computer what exactly that does.

* * *

They placed Gus's body in the airlock.

They said a few words of respect, they looked up his profile and said a few things about his life. He had been born hundreds of years earlier as he had been in suspended animation for much of that time.

They said a respectful goodbye to his life and then they jettisoned his body into outer space in the form of the respectful space funeral.

Once that was over Jim turns to Aurora.

"I have something to show you." said Jim.

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	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Day 741

They walked the short distance to the infirmary.

"What are we doing here?" asked Aurora.

"I have some good news for you about me waking you up." said Jim.

Aurora was intrigued but still curious.

Jim then waved Gus's ID band over the screen by the autodoc and detecting the ID band.

"No physician is present." said Jim. "Override of my authority, ID 2317.

Command mode selections then appeared on the screen and he started to scroll through them until he found 'stabilize and suspend'.

"In command mode there is a function called 'stabilize and suspend'." said Jim to Aurora. "What it does is it puts the person into a state called 'Medical Stasis'. It stops all metabolic activity. The function is intended for terminally ill patients that are close to death that need to be kept alive for a while. It's a little different scientifically and medically, but it's essentially nearly the same as hibernation. You can go back to sleep."

"I can go back to sleep?" Aurora thought inside her head.

But suddenly the idea didn't appeal to her anymore. She had resigned herself to the inevitable that she was going to spend the rest of her life on the ship with Jim. She was happy about that. But now she's being given a chance to give up to have her old life back. Before she forgave him she would have leapt at that chance, but now she didn't want to do it...at least not without Jim.

"But there's only one autodoc." said Aurora.

"Unfortunately." said Jim. "And you are going to lie down in it. And you are going to go back to sleep. You are going to make it to Homestead 2, And you are going to write your book. And you're going to finish your journey that you started out with."

"But what about you?" asked Aurora. "You'll be right back where you started. You'll be all alone."

"It will be different now. I have a better handle on it."

"I need time to think about this." said Aurora.

She stepped out of the room and went back to her cabin.

* * *

Day 748

She avoided Jim for another week. Constantly going over the pros and cons of going back into hibernation. If she woke up in 90 years, then Jim would be dead and she would never see him again. In her whole life on Earth she never found a man to love. Not that she didn't have options, but rather she just never allowed herself to fall in love. She had had a few boyfriends that she had been close to, but in the end she always left them because she had been holding out for someone better. It turns out that it took the scenario of being the 'last man and woman on Earth' for her to fall in love. But now that she had Jim, she didn't want to give him up.

After the week of solitude which Jim had respected, Aurora went looking for him to tell him her answer of what she was going to do with the option of going back to sleep.

* * *

Day 749

Jim was sitting in the pub. Arthur was polishing a glass as always. He had reconnected Arthur's artificial intelligence chip in his circuit board and he came back online with apparently no problems. The synthetic rubber like skin that his face was made out of had been severely damaged, but Aurora had fixed him up. He looked all right though he could be better.

Jim was drinking a glass of water while turning over and over in his hands the makeshift gold and silver wedding band that he had made himself.

"Tuesday is my day with Arthur." said Aurora.

Aurora walked into the room, all dressed up and smiling.

"Then may I join you." said Jim.

"Absolutely." said Aurora. "Arthur you are looking lovely."

"Thanks to you." said Arthur.

"Aurora I'm just going to say this straight out," he then presented the ring to her, "will you marry me?"

She presented her finger for him to put it on her and he did.

"Took you long enough to ask." said Aurora in joking reprimand with a smile.

She and Jim then kissed.

"Champagne?" said Arthur as he presented two flute glasses filled with sparkling white wine.

* * *

They had Arthur perform the ceremony. The two of them had never been happier. They were ready to spend the rest of their lives together as their wedding bands symbolized and their wedding vows had declared.

* * *

They were in the swimming pool. They both dove into the water. They swam to the transparent domed wall at the end of the pool where the passengers could look out at the stars through the water while they are swimming.

While still paddling their feet lightly to keep their heads above water they put their arms around each other as they looked out at the stars and then kissed briefly.

"Hell of a life." said Aurora in a statement of fact.

"Hell of a life." Jim agreed.

They had each other. They had a luxury cruise ship all to themselves. They didn't have to work. They didn't have to pay rent. They had each other's love and physical affection with all of the essentials of living and more provided for them.

They could see their future. Right there on the ship. But yet who knows what it might hold.

* * *

17 years later

Earth

City of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

In an office building owned by the Homestead Company, with rows and rows of cubicles where telephone operators in front of their computers were taking calls and answering questions for Homestead Company customers. One employee received an incoming transmission in the form of a video message from deep space. This was common they received thousands of them all the time.

The message completed its upload from the deep space laser array transmission, and then the operator hit play.

The face of a Caucasian man with brown hair appeared and started speaking,

"Hi, I'm Jim Preston. I am a passenger aboard the Avalon. And...I'm not quite sure what to say...I think my hibernation pod malfunctioned. I understand that that's not supposed to happen, but I'm the only one awake and everyone else is asleep and the thing is the ship still has 90 years to go before it reaches Homestead 2, and...I don't know maybe it this is all my fault...maybe I missed something...I could just really use some help right now. Thank you."

The customer service operator sat there at his desk in utter shock. He wasn't even sure if he could believe it. This was just so far-fetched scenario, it conflicted with one's ingrained beliefs. The ingrained belief now being that hibernation pods cannot malfunction.

He pressed a button for the staff support line.

"I need someone from Tech Support please."

It was company policy to investigate the matter. They traced the transmission, and determined that it had come from deep space in the direction of Homestead 2 along the course that the Starship Avalon was supposed to be taking. They looked up the profile of the passenger, Jim Preston. They did find a James Preston who seemed to fit the physical appearance of the person in the video. They contacted some of his former friends who were all 49 years older after the Avalon had left Earth, some of them could scarcely remember what they ate the day before, let alone a friend from 49 years earlier. But they confirmed that it was no hoax, it was no elaborate joke.

Now to determine a hibernation pod malfunction which was supposed to be impossible. They went over everything that they knew about hibernation pods. The tech experts said that merely the hibernation pods weren't supposed to malfunction not that they strictly couldn't malfunction. They of course went over several different hypothetical scenarios that would cause a hibernation pod to malfunction, short of deliberate sabotage.

Further examination of the details including coming up with the situation that Gym Preston would be in, if a person did wake up prematurely because of a hibernation pod malfunction they would be stuck on the ship with no way to get back into hibernation or have any solution to their problem. Some of the people in charge at the homestead company we're embarrassed at the idea of how they could miss something like this. Failure of imagination. They were so religiously believing that it was impossible. Thing never thought it would happen.

* * *

They received several messages from the Starship Avalon over the next few decades. The second message appeared about five years after the first. It was a report from Jim Preston and Aurora Lane explaining what had happened and interestingly the breach in the ship's Shields with a small meteorite. They explain about all the malfunctions and the problems but fortunately they had fixed it. Jim Preston expressed his disappointment and customer complaint to the Homestead Company on the lack of a contingency protocol of want a passenger is supposed to do if they wake up early. Though he was slightly sympathetic and understanding that the intent was that it was never supposed to happen to begin with, but none the less. But Titanic wasn't supposed to sink but yet they should have still had enough lifeboats for everyone.

After that, new security and safety protocols were implemented into Starships including a means to put a person into hibernation while on the ship without medical staff, still hoping that Jim Preston's pod malfunction was an isolated incident that would never happen again, they had to protect the future customers that it might happen to. Though of course it would take centuries to implement this to all of the interstellar starships that were still on route.

* * *

February 4th, 3039

The Starship Avalon was entering the Bhakti system. It began a standard braking procedure to slow its velocity to be able to come into a stable orbit around the colony world of Homestead 2. The Planet was green with forests and mountians, rivers, lakes, and salt water oceans. It had a population of several million, and society was thriving. The mined minerals out of the ground, grew crops, farmed domestic animals, and built lots of houses, all while enjoying everything they would on Earth, shopping malls, hiking trails, and a verity of recreational facilities. All while giving a small percentile of everything they have to the Homestead Company.

The Avalon. With a velocity of half the speed of light it would take several months for the ship's breaking to sufficiently take effect. The ship was on course for an orbital Shipyard in high orbit over Homestead 2, the shipyard was similar to the one that was in orbit of Earth's moon, mining raw materials from a significantly smaller asteroid, only 1 billion tons, but enough for the shipyard to work with. The shipyard was also an orbital Space Dock for incoming Starships. At present there were several luxury liners that we're docked there some of them almost ready to head out, some that would be under maintenance for a while, and a few only half built under construction. The Avalon was not the only ship that goes from Earth to Homestead two. Along the same course there were several ships that were a few years and decades ahead of the Avalon, while also at present there were several ships that were few years and decades behind the Avalon.

The ship's navigational system detected the close proximity of Homestead 2, the ship autopilot initiated the automatic reanimation process of the ship's crew.

* * *

Captain Norris felt consciousness as his body felt semi paralyzed.

A holographic face appeared in front of him.

"Good Morning Captain Norris. How are you feeling?"

"I'm tired." said the Captain.

"You're experiencing post hibernation sickness, it will pass. The ship is on Final Approach."

"Thank you." said Captain Norris as he felt a little bit more awake as each passing second.

"Let's check your vitals."

He noticed that throughout the room there were several other hibernation pods that had the same holographic face in front of them waking up the crew. Of course not every member of the crew woke up simultaneously. It was just the senior staff on the first day and then on the second day the lower-ranking officers, and then on the third day the rest of them.

Then they wait a month before waking up the passengers.

The giant laser scanner had swept over his body there was an approving chime.

"You are in perfect health, Captain Norris. Please proceed to your cabin where you can get some rest."

Captain Norris and the rest of the senior staff made their way groggily towards the crew quarters.

When they got there they went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, when Captain Norris was well-rested and wide awake, Captain Norris went to the bridge to check on the main systems, which was standard procedure for his standard duties, when he noticed an interesting anomaly. There was some damage around the doors and the consoles. Damage that doesn't affect anything, it seems like scorch marks as though someone tried to cut through it with a welding torch. Though the metal was made of a specially synthesized titanium/ platinum/carbon polymer which is virtually indestructible even to super hot melting temperatures. It would take specialized equipment to be able to cut through the security hatch protecting the bridge.

Then he received a page over the Comm.

"Captain Norris, this is chief medical officer Barton, please come to the Infirmary, there's something that you need to see."

When Captain Norris and many other members of the senior staff got to the infirmary, they found that the autodoc was occupied. The console registered that the autodoc was on the continuous sustained medical function of 'Stabilize and Suspend'.

The occupant of the autodoc was an elderly woman.

"The autodoc is keeping her alive in Medical Stasis." said the chief medical officer.

"Where did she come from, Dr. Barton?" asked Captain Norris.

"I came in here as my first act of Chief Medical Officer after waking up to check on my infirmary, and I found her here. A few things in here are out of place, and obviously something has happened here."

Captain Norris looked closely at her. Her hair was long and gray, her skin was so wrinkled. She had to be at least 100 years old.

"What's her condition?" asked Captain Norris.

The chief medical officer pressed a few buttons on the console and it showed the state of her nervous system.

"She is near death." said the chief medical officer. "99% from just old age. She'll be fine as long as she stays in Medical Stasis, but once we bring her out she may only have a few days, perhaps a week."

"Then let's let her die with dignity, wake her up and give her a stimulant to keep her aware and alert, I want to find out from her what's going on here."

The chief medical officer pressed a few buttons where then the screen gave a reprimand beep saying that a person in 'Medical Stasis' cannot be reanimation without an attending physician.

The chief medical officer waved his right wrist over the screen and it beeped detecting his ID Band.

"Computer, health and safety protocol has been acknowledged, a licensed doctor is present. Begin reanimation process for occupant in the autodoc, authorization, 'Chief Medical Officer', 'ID 3579'."

The autodoc then began the reanimation process and a few moments later the elderly woman start to stir.

The Captain then stood over her as the autodoc opened up.

"Ma'am, are you alright?"

The chief medical officer then took a syringe full of a very powerful stimulant and injected it into her arm.

The elderly woman opened her eyes fully and then seemed to be fully awake quickly. The stimulant in question was not something recommended for anyone, but in her condition it might actually just get her heart to beat a little bit longer.

"I'm doing well, thank you." said the woman in a scratchy elderly voice.

"I'm Theodore Norris, Captain of the Avalon. What is your name?"

"Aurora Lane." said the elderly woman. "I'm a writer. And have I got a story to tell you!"

Captain Norris was directed by Aurora Lane to pick up a holographic notepad that was on the counter off to the side.

The note on the notepad was titled, 'Journal Entries of Aurora Lane'.

Aurora told him to read everything that was on the holographic notepad, it was a 3000 page book. Her greatest work. But for him not to read the first page until he took a look at the Grand Concourse first.

The Captain and several of the other officers went to the elevator while the chief medical officer gave Aurora Lane a full checkup. He believed that there might be some procedures available that could extend her life by another year.

"Please buckle up and secure any loose items." said the computer. "This elevator will experience a momentary lapse in gravity."

There was an elevator ride to the luxury module, and then they unbuckle their belts and exited the door of the elevator.

"Grand Concourse." said the computer as they walked into the giant shopping mall.

Only when they walked in they were greeted by an unusual sight that they didn't imagine. The entire Grand Concourse had been transformed into a giant Park and garden. A giant tree in the middle that would have taken a century's growth. Plants and grass everywhere. There were animals consisting of mostly birds that clearly had been brought out of stasis from the cargo hold. The waiter robots from the restaurants were tending to the garden and caring for the animals. There was a little hut in the middle that looked quaint and cozy. The Fountains had been modified and rearranged to create little irrigation waterfalls everywhere.

Okay, the Captain wanted some answers now. He opened up the holographic notepad and read the first page which was an 'intro' to the story.

And the first page read,

"Dear passengers of the Avalon,

"My name is Aurora Lane. In the year 2949 there was the first ever hibernation malfunction of the passenger Jim Preston. He was alone for a long time until he woke me up to share his loneliness with him. I was mad at him in the beginning, but I eventually forgave him and fell in love with him. We were stuck on the ship with no way to get back into hibernation. The bartender Android Arthur once said to us that you can't get so hung up on where you would rather be that you forget to make the most of where you are, so Jim and I built ourselves a life! A beautiful life!...here is my story..."

The end

 **Author's note: Hope you have enjoyed this novelized version of the movie 'Passengers'. Please excuse all the plot holes. Please send me a comment!**


End file.
